Love and Gravity
by hotandcold
Summary: Two years after Jacob ran off end of Eclipse , a stranger shows up in La Push looking for answers. She finds the Quileutes and a place to call home. She also finds out she has special "gifts" that tie her to the Quileutes, and, ultimately, to Jacob.
1. Chapter 1 PrologueFirst Sight

**A/N: **Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I just wanted to create a character worthy of Jacob and insert it into her world.

This is my first fic - though I have been thinking about it and working on it since this summer. Thank you to JDSK for agreeing to be my beta and for loving my Jacob (though she's not typically a Jacob fan). Thank you, too, to Angel/EdwardZukoRocks for introducing me to Twilight, fan fiction, and robsession.

**Prologue**

It was time.

The sun had begun its descent toward nightfall and the shadows were already beginning to angle lower in the sky. This far north in the Canadian wilderness, not much else marked the passing of time as well as the shadows and the sun. It was generally always cold, sometimes wet, and sporadically evergreen. The seasons seemed to be snow and not-snow.

As the sun dipped lower still, the chill in the air grew more pronounced. It was definitely the tail end of another not-snow. It was time to go back. To go home.

Jacob stood on the rocky crest of a low mountain peak. The intermittent wind ruffled his russet fur. He'd seen two not-snow seasons fully through now. Two years. It was enough. He was tired of running and tired of being alone. Before he'd left, before so many things, he'd been an outgoing, happy, typical tangle of teenage hormones. He needed to be that again.

His pointed ears twitched and swiveled left at the sound of some small animal making its way home through the scruff of trees behind him. He surveyed the horizon and settled his gaze southwest. He estimated it would take a few weeks' travel to get to his cousin's house in British Columbia. Waiting for him there were clothes and money. An agreement he'd made when he'd last communicated with Leah about six months ago. His father could send a care package to Kamloops. When he was ready to make contact again, when his "spiritual quest," as his dad called it, was over, he could phase back there.

As the last rays of the day crashed into the crest of the mountain opposite his, Jacob threw back his head and let out a long, piercing howl of farewell.

*****

**Chapter 1 -First Sight **

Maura's eyes hurt. Dry, red, gritty. The muscles in the sockets ached.

She'd been on watch for half the day today. Much longer than she'd ever planned. The morning drizzle had finally slacked off around noon, the sun burning off the last of the blanket of clouds that had hovered for days. Her shoes squished as she shifted her perch, and an unsuspecting flock of birds startled and hastily flew away. Maura had been so still. A characteristic of hers. The birds hadn't noticed her until she moved.

"Ugh. This place sucks." The Olympic Peninsula, Upstate Washington. How had she ended up here and for so long? Oh yeah. She planned this godforsaken trip.

She checked the view again, down into the woods through a clearing towards the La Push township - nothing. "Where are they? What do I think I _saw_? I sawit."

Crap! She was talking to herself. Again. Out loud.

"They didn't see me. I _know _they didn't. They have no clue they're being watched. Which is strange. They should." But they were not as aware of their surroundings as she thought they would be. They seemed distracted. They were "them," she was sure of it, though she had no concrete proof.

"Maura, you're crazy." She repeated his words back to herself. Mac. Her ex.

She shook her head to clear that image from her mind, and the raven strands that had escaped her ponytail whipped water into her face. "I'm soaked. I'm sitting here in Bumfuck, Washington stalking a band of tribal brothers - well, one girl - because I think they're…shape shifters…because…I don't know why." She stood and stretched her aching muscles. "Go home, Maura." She gathered her meager belongings - knapsack, water canteen, tarp, and blanket. It was early September. Wet and cool here in the forest between Forks and La Push.

*****

Shape shifters. She had followed this crazy notion all the way from her semester abroad in Scotland after some drunken encounter with a fortune teller. A palm reader who told her a theory about the jagged, crooked life line on her right hand. She ditched college. She had driven Mac so far away. He was right. She was crazy.

But she found them. The Quileutes. And she had found _them, _too, almost immediately. During some annual end of summer festival in their tiny town. Obvious, really, if you were looking. If you wanted to see it. They moved as a unit, alternately playful as puppies or as intimidating as a pack of wolves. Surprisingly unguarded as they enjoyed this moment of celebration and the tourists it brought to their quiet town.

They never looked over. Never. But she was unable not to stare. To obsess. To memorize. To jump to an almost instinctual, unsubstantiated conclusion.

They were all so unusually tall, towering over the natives and tourists alike. Their height combined with beautiful reddish-brown skin and short, almost buzz-cut black hair made them striking, both individually and as a group. They definitely distinguished themselves from the crowd.

"Handsome, aren't they?" An older woman had observed her. She smiled at what must be just another tourist come to witness the native festivities. _They _had suddenly erupted in laughter, and the one girl punched the tallest one in the arm as she grudgingly smiled. "Rambunctious, too." The lady looked at them fondly. "Are you enjoying the festival?"

"Yes, ma'am." Maura smiled, barely able to tear her eyes from them to even be polite.

"The south? What brings you all the way here?" The lady easily caught Maura's southern drawl in her two word response.

Maura hesitated. "Um, backpacking? I've done part of Europe, so you know, the northwest US was next, I guess." Just then Maura noticed the group's mood shift slightly. With an almost imperceptible nod of his head, the tall one signaled his…pack. They'd given brief goodbyes to the others in their group and turned in unison, heading out of town towards the woods.

"Enjoy yourself. And there's a bonfire this weekend, if you're still in town." The friendly woman moved on, taking her place across the small town square to join those that had just been left behind.

In that second, Maura turned on her heels. She had to follow them. Why? This was beyond crazy. Quickly, she tried to trace what she'd seen of their path. She was fast, but they were much faster. They had vanished.

Something unnamed pulled her in a particular direction towards the woods, away from a more logical well-worn path to a small break in the tree line. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Her head began to hurt. "Not now," she thought. Not the awful migraine or the unexplained buzzing. Static, like when a TV or radio loses signal. She clutched her head in one hand and used the other to stuff her small bag into the front of her hoodie.

She crossed the tree line. Which way? And then, in an instant, she tripped over a root and landed in a tangle of underbrush. She caught her breath. "Shit, shit, shit. Don't move, don't breathe," she thought frantically. No, they had to be long gone. They wouldn't have heard her. And then -

A flash caught her eye. She didn't exhale. "Still, be still," she willed herself. That she could do. Except the static was getting louder and the throbbing in her temple raged. She wanted to scream. Instead she silently and slowly turned her head in the direction of the flash. Something shimmered. Wait. What? And then a soft snap and rustle of leaves, and another flash. This time of dark…fur?

Had she seen that? Had she just, almost, seen it? Them? The static was louder than it had ever been before. She'd noticed that change ever since she'd come here a few days ago. Stronger, louder. She let a soft gasp escape her lips and froze again. "Stillness," she willed herself again. Stillness was her gift. Something she could do incredibly, unexplainably well. It had scared her family so much when she was younger.

She remained still while the static and the pain raged. And then a piercing, skin tingling howl broke the quiet of the forest and momentarily cleared the torment in her head. And again, the howl. And then, answering calls.

Wolves! Shit. How close? She sprang up from the brush to make a run for it back to the safety of the town.

Wait…_wolves? And so her watch began._

_*****_

**A/N: Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Okay, Maura finally begins to interact with the wolf pack! Hope you enjoy it. Please review.

Thank you to the awesome JDSK for being my beta and to Angel/EdwardZukoRocks for putting up with the crazy!

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I just put my own character into it for Jacob's sake.

Chapter 2 - Home Cooking

And now a week into her unplanned extended stay in La Push, Maura had followed those feelings a half a dozen times. Something would pull her, and she'd go. She had left a half eaten lunch and unpaid check one of those times. Sometimes it would happen after she had seen one of them, but after the festival, they'd been scarce. More tense. But they still didn't seem to know she was watching them. Well, she hadn't had any actual luck. Like this morning. The growing volume of the static in her brain woke her up just after dawn. She had pulled on clothes, grabbed her gear and fled into the deep gray drizzle outside. The static was like a signal. Every time she felt the pull, she'd also had the raging buzz in her head. Every time. If she could hear over that, to help her eyes, maybe she would have spotted them by now. She knew, somehow, she was close, though their barks at the moon, or calls, were infrequent and only right at the beginning when the unexplained instinct called her forward.

"Okay, this is useless. One more night. I'll leave tomorrow." She headed back to town.

Tomorrow would be Sunday. A week since she'd first laid eyes on them. She made her way down from her soggy perch and to her dingy motel room on a lower cliff bordering the gray, choppy waters of the northern Pacific.

Back in her room, she cranked the heat to get rid of the chill she'd picked up from hours in the light rain that morning. She slipped out of her boots and damp clothes, laying them on the table near the heater to dry. Once in her ragged leggings and t-shirt, she laid on the bed to rest her eyes. The static had subsided, but her eyes and head still ached.

"_Wake up. Wake up!" Maura tried to tell herself to no avail. She was tearing through trees, branches scraping against her skin. Chased. Frantic. Suddenly surrounded. "Wake up!" Her breath caught as one cut off the path in front. "I'll die," she thought, as their eyes locked. The beast and the…"what, what was she supposed to be? The prey?"_

"Woah!" Maura bolted upright, her heart pounding. "Thank god. I'm awake." She gasped out.

That. Damn. Dream. She realized then, between heavy breaths, that her phone was ringing. "Hello? Hey, Gran." She calmed her tone. Gran. Calling to check on her.

"I haven't heard from you in several days, Mo Mo." Gran admonished. "I worry, love, you know that."

"Sorry, Gran. I'm fine. I'm exploring. I didn't mean to worry you." Maura sighed. Gran. Her only family. "How's the new room?"

It had been gut wrenching last year to move Gran to Assisted Living. She was a strong, independent woman. But with Maura away at school and the lack of any other family support, Gran's arthritis began to overcome her ability and will to stick it out alone. Gran hugged and reassured her on the day of the move. "You go live your life. You deserve this. And I'll be well taken care of, so you won't have to worry. Some day, you can come get me, _after_ you've settled this thing." Maura had cringed at the mention of it. Her "thing" as Gran called it, had cost Maura, cost them both, their family. Crazy. That's what her family called her "thing." They kicked her out at 17, her dad and step-mom, when she finally refused to keep taking the meds. They hadn't helped anyway. Only Gran had stood by her.

When she hung up a half hour later, Maura checked the clock. Five-thirty in the afternoon. Her stomach growled, and she realized her last meal had been almost twenty-four hours ago. She had been too rushed to eat this morning, that was for sure, and then too tired when she returned from her unproductive morning watch.

She quickly changed into a warmer, less raggedy pair of black leggings, a long sleeve black t-shirt, and an old, thin wool sweater she had stolen from Mac. She threw her hair into a low ponytail and shoved her feet into her worn out, black Chucks. She headed out into the chill of the early fall evening, up the road to her destination. Higher up, on the cliff top, sat Emily's Bar and Grill. Home to the most amazing food she had ever eaten. All comfort food. And the portions were huge. She discovered it the day after the festival, and had been back a bunch since.

As Maura opened the door, her senses were assaulted with mouthwatering aromas. Surprisingly, the usually crowded restaurant was almost empty. She slid onto a bar stool towards the left-end of the counter. Only one booth was occupied, by a lone diner. A girl. Maura did a quick double-take. "The" girl.

"Evening," smiled the waitress behind the counter . Her long, dark hair was wrapped into a sloppy bun. Layered bangs, swept to the side, kept falling into her eye as she organized condiments. Maura was sure the bangs were meant to partially conceal the long scars that tore through one side of her otherwise pretty face.

"Evening." Maura smiled back. "I'll have the half portion of 'The Boys' Favorite 2' and a Diet Coke."

"Coming up. Good to see you back again, by the way. You from Forks?" As Maura shook her head in reply, she noticed the girl in the booth snap to attention and look their way. Maura watched, out of her peripheral vision, as the girl uncurled herself from the vinyl banquet seat and strode purposefully to the counter, empty mug in hand.

"Hit me, Emily." The girl indicated her coffee cup. Her tone was hard, to match her demeanor. She was tall, very tall for a woman, and she had a wary look in her eyes. She was pretty and dark. Emily disappeared into the kitchen as the girl shifted her gaze to Maura. "From Forks?" She demanded, repeating Emily's question.

"No, just visiting. I'm from Atlanta…" The girl's eyes were examining her. "Georgia?" She added tentatively. Maura noticed her relax a little. "Is Forks a, um, bad place?"

"I don't trust girls - people - from Forks." Just then, Emily returned with Maura's plate of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. She laughed at the girl's reply.

"Relax, Leah. It's been two years. And her skin is pale, but not white." She patted the girl's, Leah's, arm. Maura noticed her reflexively flinch then soften. Leah slid her arm from under Emily's hand and relocated to the other end of the counter.

As Maura ate, her gaze drifted out the large front window, across the street to the tall grass that bordered the cliffs. She watched as the sun began to set, hazy and dim, through the clouded sky. Emily had moved towards Leah, making quiet small talk and beginning to prep for closing. Maura wasn't watching them anymore, but she didn't take her ears off them. She'd been chasing the pack for a week, and now, finally, she was in the same room with one of them. Leah. If she was still enough she knew they would forget, at least consciously, that she was there.

"Two years, Emily. I miss him." Leah said softly. There was pain and anger in her voice.

"Well, at least you've heard him, you know, off and on. Sam would give anything to."

"I don't hear him much anymore. And when I do, lately, there's been like…interference. Static."

Maura froze on an inhale, her fork hovering halfway to her mouth. Static? She heard static?! 'Wait, dummy,' she inwardly reprimanded herself, 'cell phones get static. Quit jumping to conclusions.'

"You know we all thought you'd follow him." Emily's comment was timid. Maura couldn't blame her. Even with her tone softened, Leah threw off a very jagged edge.

"Yeah?" Accusatory. But then, "I guess I wanted to. I should have. But I wouldn't have met Henry." Leah spoke the name with unconcealed love, and that seemed surprising.

"Nobody pegged you for the type to like blonds, that's for sure." Emily laughed. "Is he meeting you tonight?"

"No. He has to work night shift this week. I'll see him later. After -" Leah was cut off by the sound of the door opening and a booming voice.

"Em! Close up already."

'Oh my god,' thought Maura. 'It's the tallest one. The leader.' She didn't even pretend to be watching the sky now. Instead she watched him approach the two women at the opposite side of the counter. She almost gasped aloud. The look on his face as he approached Emily was like nothing she had ever seen. And Emily's face now shared his expression. Maura couldn't breathe. She felt like a voyeur, watching two lovers, though she was several feet away. Shifting on her bar stool, she blushed and thought, 'Wow. I want that. How do you get that?' Mac had never looked at her that way. Not even in the first rush of falling in love. He had loved her, and looked at her with love. But never like that.

"Hey, Embry, kitchen closed up?" He shouted to the back before pulling Emily into a kiss. Maura blushed again. The kiss wasn't anything more than a peck hello, but the passion behind it was evident.

The cook, Embry, came out to join them. "All done, Sam."

"So, Emily, why aren't you ready yet? It's going to start any minute now." A smile behind his questions, he continued, " Coming, Leah?" His arms were still around Emily's waist.

Maura noticed Leah's eyes almost imperceptibly harden, then soften again. "Yeah, of course, Sam. I wouldn't miss the bonfire." Leah answered.

"Bonfire!" Every face in the room turned to Maura. Shit. She had said that out loud.

"Eavesdrop much?" Leah sneered, recovering from the shock at finding Maura still in the restaurant.

"I, uh, I'm sorry. I just, at the festival," she sputtered. "This woman told me about the bonfire. If I was still in town." Maura hastily dug in her pockets for cash. She put the crumpled bills on the counter. "I wasn't, I mean, I didn't mean to -" Crap.

"No worries," Embry smiled at her. "It's not a private party." Maura felt her skin flush again. Good grief, he was cute. And tall. They were all good looking and dark and so very tall. Well, Emily was more average in height, but still. At 5'6", Maura knew she wasn't petite, but around them she felt like a pygmy. "The council leaders will be there telling stories." Embry continued. He, Emily, and Sam smiled at her.

Leah glared, then rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Come if you want. It's not a 'private party' until about eight." She hopped off her bar stool and stalked out the door.

"Don't mind her," Embry said encouragingly. "Why don't you walk down there with us?"

"If you're finished, I'll take your plate, and we can clean up a minute before we go." Emily said as she switched off the neon "open" sign.

"Oh. I'm sorry. Again." Maura began gathering her plate, utensils, and glass. "I'd be happy to help you, since I'm making you late. I didn't realize you would close early. Aren't you usually open later?"

"Until 8 during the week and until about 2 AM on the weekends. Except for special occasions, like the bonfire." Emily grabbed Maura's dishes, refusing to let her help. She and Sam disappeared into the kitchen. Maura could hear the faucet turn on. She looked at Embry. He was one of them, too. In a matter of a half hour she had gone from spying on and trailing them to being invited to hang out on the beach. Was this luck? Coincidence? And now that she was with them, was she going to find anything out? Would any of her hunches or questions be answered? Would she be bold enough to even ask? She knew the answer to that last one - hardly.

All her mental dialogue had now resulted in an uncomfortable lapse in conversation with Embry. He glanced towards the kitchen when they heard Emily giggle.

"They might be a few more minutes." He said, rolling his eyes. "Come on." He crossed the dining area and held the door open for Maura. She took a deep breath. Well, the worst thing that could probably happen is that she would spend a little time with a really cute guy on the beach tonight. She walked out in front of Embry and the cool ocean breeze cleared her mind a bit. 'No.' she thought. She was on a mission. She was going to find out _something. Tonight._

**A/N:** Please review!


	3. Chapter 3 Fire

**A/N: I'm glad to see the number of reads I have is way more than the number of reviews. But - I'd love more reviews!**

**Thank you to jdsk for her beta awesomeness! Thanks to angel for giving this story a shout out on her awesome AU story "Creature of Habit." If you haven't read that or her complete "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" (under the name edwardzukorocks) you really owe it yourself to head over there after you read (and review) here.**

**Disclaimer: Meyer owns. I changed it for the love of Jacob.**

Chapter 3 - Fire

The walk down to the bonfire took about ten minutes. Maura had to sort of jog a bit to keep stride with Embry. His legs seemed at least two times the length of hers. He kept up an easy stream of questioning as they made their way. Where was she from? How long had she been in town? What did she think of the festival? Maura thought his voice was nice. Soothing. And he, a little shy.

"Hey, Embry, over here!" Another one, the youngest, called out and waved enthusiastically. Maura looked over to find that almost the entire pack except Sam was loosely sitting together, some with families or spouses or girlfriends. She looked around the beach. There were at least 50 people gathered, many of them older. 'Elders.' she corrected internally. Then, 'Okay, dances-with-wolves, where did that come from? Cheesy, Hollywood history. Maybe they just call them grandma or old man, like everybody else.' Still, she got the feeling that the older men and women were in a place of honor, in the center of the crowd. Just then, Embry grabbed her hand to help navigate through the blankets and lawn chairs strewn across the area. 'Hhhhot!' His hand seemed to almost burn her skin. 'Jesus, he is hot.' She felt her own temperature begin to rise and giggled at the thought. Was she getting warm because he was _hot_ or because he was hot_? _Embry heard her laugh and turned back to smile.

When they reached the others, he casually dropped her hand.

"Hey, who's this?" asked the youngest one.

"Oh. You know, I never asked your name. And I never introduced myself. I'm an idiot." He laughed apologetically, sticking out the hand she had just been holding. "I'm Embry Call."

Maura laughed, too. "Maura Black." She shook his hand.

"You're not from here, though, right," asked the young one. They were all suddenly staring.

"No. That's obvious, isn't it?" She looked up at them all. Even the seated ones were almost level with her eyes.

"It's just your name. And you're here at a non touristy time. At the bonfire. And you came down here with Embry. I didn't know if you were, like, a distant cousin or something."

"Seth, take a breath." It was Leah. "She's a tourist. We ran into her up at Emily's, and Embry invited her." Maura couldn't tell if Leah's tone indicated jealousy of all their attention on her or if she was just annoyed by her very presence. "I'm Leah Clearwater. This is my baby brother Seth. Over here's Paul, Quil's at the far end with Emily's sister's family, um…I can't exactly introduce our entire town, but you get the general idea." The others, those closest, nodded or gave small greetings. Maura noticed Seth pull Embry off to the side a bit.

"Hey, Embry, what are you doing with her? Your girlfriend's right over there. You're taken." Seth whispered, but Maura caught it. Of course he had a girlfriend. Damn.

"Yeah, well, Karen's just a girlfriend. She, Maura, she's -"

"Wait. You didn't, did you?" Seth cut Embry off.

Embry sighed. "No, I didn't. I was just going to say she's hot and new in town and…. You know, it's just hard to let yourself really care about someone, even your girlfriend, when you feel like you're still waiting for _it _to happen. If _it even does happen to all of us." _

"_I hope it does. For all of us. But for right now, you're taken, and I'm not."_

"_Okay, Seth. Give it a shot." Embry was amused. "Hey, Karen, over here!" he called out. Maura watched as an attractive girl made her way over to Embry and hugged him around the waist. As Seth came to stand beside Maura, she stiffened. Did they just decide that Embry was going to pass her off to Seth?_

"_Would you like to sit down?" Seth asked, indicating a warm blanket draped across a driftwood log. "The council chiefs are going to tell the legends in just a few minutes."_

_Maura swallowed her irritation. She needed to find some answers. Maybe the legends were the place to start. "Sure, Seth. Thanks." He was sitting awfully close. Maura snuck a look at him. He was cute, but he seemed young. He didn't look younger than her necessarily. It was something else. "How old are you?" It was Seth's turn to stiffen. A sore spot? Well, Leah had called him her "baby" brother, which was odd._

"_How old do you think I am?" He didn't look at her._

"_You look my age, I guess. Twenty, twenty-one. You just seem…." she stopped. He was embarrassed. There was just something so young about him, like an eager puppy._

"_Is that code for you're not my type, Seth?" He wouldn't look up at her. Maura felt a little guilty. She hadn't meant to shoot him down or anything, really. She was annoyed by what she had overheard, but she didn't even know this guy. She just wanted to know about him. All of them. But he didn't know that._

"_No. I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. Just curious." Maura rushed her words out. One of the elders was ready to begin speaking. As he was being rolled forward in his wheel chair, a hush fell over the assembled group. "Thank you for sitting with me, you know, after Embry's girlfriend came over. New in town, all that awkwardness," she whispered. Seth relaxed a bit and smiled. "Who's that?"_

"_Billy Black. Our chief elder." Seth leaned in to whisper back, and he stayed close. Maura felt heat radiating off him, kind of like she had when she had while holding Embry's hand. _

'_Oh, good Lord, Maura. What is wrong with you? Don't lead this one on. Don't flirt. This is not what you are here for. You don't need two of them interested in you. You need answers. Think. Pay attention. Oh, wait. Billy Black, that's why he thought you were related. Odd coincidence….' And then she shut her inner voice off as Billy Black launched into the legends._

**A/N: Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4 Layover

**A/N: **Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! I tried to respond to everyone, and you all have given me some great ideas to try to work in with what I've already planned.

Thank you, as always, to the amazing JDSK for being my beta. You rock!

Okay, this chapter is very short, but it is all Jacob! Please read and review.

Disclaimer: Meyer created Twilight. I created Maura and dropped her in on the Quileutes.

Chapter 4 - Layover

Jacob stood, dripping wet from the shower, in the tiny bathroom of his cousin Eli's trailer. He rubbed steam from the mirror and leaned down to see into it properly. "Hi, handsome," he laughed at himself and began to lather his face up for a badly needed shave. His eyes had circles under them from lack of sleep. It had, indeed, taken him a few weeks to travel from the remote Canadian mountains to the outskirts of Kamloops, B.C. The weather had taken an early arctic turn, with blustering winds handicapping his progress. He'd had to make do with short naps, spaced unevenly throughout the day, in order to make up for lost time. Last night had been his first good night's sleep in possibly two years. And it had been in a too small, lumpy, foldout bed in the living room of Eli's trailer.

"Hey!" Eli pounded on the door, shouting. "If you take all the hot water I'm going to kill you. I have to get ready, too."

"Relax. It's going to be a while. I'm in serious need of a makeover." Jacob replied.

Eli laughed. "No arguments there, but if we're going to hit the bars tonight, I want to look good for all the ladies, too." Eli took bachelorhood to an art form. At 30, he had never been in anything longer than one year. On principle, he made damn sure that nothing interfered with his status, like an unplanned child or a girl who didn't know up front that he was never going to marry. Ever.

Jacob thought back to the first time he stayed with Eli. It had been about six months after he left home. He had tired of his wolf phase, which he had kept up the entire time. At the time, he'd been closer to home then and had communicated with Leah. She had the idea that he use Eli's place when he wasn't phased, and Billy had called up his nephew to work it out.

Jacob got a job as a part-time mechanic in Kamloops and had tried, really hard, to put _her_ out of his mind. After all, she was out of his life. Forever. He had to get on with his own, especially knowing that hers, as he had known it, was probably over by now.

So, they bar hopped a lot, and Eli had convinced him to just get "it" over with. According to him, the best cure for heartache was sex. Jacob had resisted at first. Some stranger wasn't going to make it better. It would only make it worse, because he had wanted so badly for it to be her. His first time, and hers. Eli had pointed out endlessly that she had never told him anything other than that she was in love with someone else. He had gambled by playing the best friend, and he had lost. Move on.

Finally, one drunken night at a bar, a tall, beautiful blonde caught his eye and managed to keep his attention for more than fifteen minutes. She was hot, and older, though she assumed they were the same age. She flirted with him all night, whispering suggestive comments in his ear and letting her hands roam over his body. When he found himself in her car at the end of the night, he finally decided "what the fuck," went back to her apartment and gotten himself laid. It was pretty amazing and he managed not to let on that he was a virgin. But it was drunken sex. He had woken up the next day and thrown up in her bathroom. She laughed and took care of him before driving him home. Then, he had blown it by trying to be her boyfriend. "You are sexy, Jacob, and I definitely want to do this again. But I don't want a boyfriend right now." His pride had been wounded, and he would have thought there was something wrong with him if every other single girl in town wasn't throwing themselves his way every five minutes.

Eli teased him relentlessly. "You just need to move here permanently, Cuz. The women love you. And between the two of us, we could have one helluva time with the locals and tourists in this town." But sex with the blonde and being hit on by other women were not improving Jacob's mood any.

So, Eli tried again. "Okay. You are seriously cutting in on my action. I'm a handsome guy, but the women around here are going crazy over you. I don't get it. You're good looking and all. We _are related, so of course you're good looking." He snapped his fingers then. "I got it. It's the freakishly tall, strong, silent, brooding thing you've got going on. Good angle. I should try it." _

_Jacob laughed at the memory, and shook his head. No, man-whoring in Kamloops had not been the cure for him. He wasn't done being heartbroken yet, and he'd needed some space. Two months after moving in with Eli, he had taken off again. He called his dad first. Then Leah. He even asked her to come with him, but she refused, saying he needed to work through the first part on his own. That had been more than a year and a half ago. And now he was back. Heading home after spending a few days at Eli's to make the transition easier. Something was telling him it was time. Not before another night on the town, however. Maybe this time he would actually have some fun._

**A/N: **Again, please review! Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5 Breakfast

**A/N: **I am so excited about the number of people who have added me to their story/author alert. I'd like to thank those of you who are reviewing. I appreciate the feedback!

Thank you to Smellyia and the ladies at the Lazy Yet Discerning Ficster for the recommendation for this fic. I've had quite a few readers mention that they found me through you. You all rock!

Thank you to the incredible JDSK for being my beta. You make me as happy as when I'm drinking a pomegranate martini!

Disclaimer: SMeyer owns Twilight. I own Maura.

Chapter 5 - Breakfast

Back in her motel room, Maura changed into her pj's and brushed her teeth. She stared into the mirror without really seeing her own reflection. Her mind was filled with images of the Quileute legends. She had scarcely breathed as Billy Black told of the mythic wolves and their protection against the cold ones with blood red eyes. It was after that particularly chilling tale that the majority of the crowd, including Maura, had dispersed. She glanced back to see just a small group remaining behind to continue the storytelling. A small group that included the elders and the members of the pack. She wanted to stay, but there was something unspoken that told her the "private party" had begun.

Maura shivered and then began to focus on her face in the mirror. Her own steel gray eyes, rimmed in black, were now a bit red around the edges from overuse and the lack of sleep over the past week. "Wolf eyes!" She shouted at herself, suddenly reminded of one of the nicknames her mother had used for her. She had overheard her step-mom call them creepy and eerie once. But not her own mother. She had loved Maura's unusual eyes.

Her own mother. Maura sighed, finished brushing her teeth, and drug her tired bones over to the bed. "Well, Mama, your crazy little wolf-eyed daughter might just be stepping right off the deep end this time." Her eyes began to sting a bit as the tears formed. Maura's mother had been dead, a suicide, for over 15 years, and the empty hole in Maura's heart still ached. It would always ache. That day, when her mother's demons, her own "thing," had gotten the best of her, was the day that Maura's craziness - the static - seemed to take up permanent residence in her strange, awkward, misfit life.

Maura did not register when she began to fall asleep, but she knew in the back of her mind a few hours later that she wasn't exactly dreaming this time. The static crackled and seeped into her subconscious. Then there was something different. Voices. Clear voices. Not full sentences, but a word or the snatch of a phrase. She could not make it out. Both her conscious and subconscious minds were straining to hear words that meant something, anything. Abruptly, her dream state succumbed to breathless wakefulness.

Her eyes snapped open. Voices. And they were not hers. And they were _not_ just in her head. She felt sure of that. Maura rolled over and looked at the alarm clock beside the bed. Four a.m. She had only been asleep for about five hours, but there was no way she was going back to sleep now. What was it that she had heard? She paused her thoughts to try to listen some more, but the static was beginning to fade. And then, unexpectedly, from somewhere out in the darkness of early pre-dawn, a howl. She jumped out of bed and scrambled for her shoes. The instinct was pulling her towards the door.

"Stop!" She ordered herself. "It's dark. It's four in the morning. You cannot go this time. You just can't." She fell back on the bed, restless and helpless. Not this time. "So, tomorrow, you go back to Emily's and make friends." She closed her eyes and hoped that sleep would find her again, at least for a little while.

*****

Emily's Bar and Grill. Sunday brunch. Maura tried to slide unnoticed into the throng of people waiting to get inside. It didn't work.

"Hey, Maura!" It was Embry, with Seth, Leah, and a very tall, very handsome, very blond man. Embry waved her over to their booth and hopped up to get her a chair. "Want to join us?"

Maura smiled hesitantly and joined their group. Embry and Seth both gave her appreciative grins, and the blonde smiled a friendly enough hello. Leah, however, glowered. Yep. Glowered. "Fancy meeting you here." she snarled. She looked tired, as did the rest of them.

Maura summoned her inner, hidden bad-ass and responded. "The food here is incredible. It's not really all _fancy _for me to be back." Seth snorted. Even blondie had to smile.

"I'm Henry. You new in town?" Blondie put out his hand and Maura shook it briefly but kept her eyes locked with Leah's.

"I guess you could call me an accidental tourist." Maura replied. She saw rather than heard Leah mutter "Ha!" under her breath. What is with this chick? Just then, Emily came over with plates of food.

"Good morning. I didn't know you would be joining them. I just brought their usual. What can I get you?" Emily smiled. Maura surveyed the vast amount of food at the table. Was she kidding? Their usual? How much could they eat? Yes, they were all tall, strapping individuals, even Leah, but seriously.

"Apple cinnamon waffles look good to me. Thanks, Emily. Oh, and a coffee. Black." Leah raised an eyebrow. "What?" Maura raised hers back.

"I guess black coffee does sort of go with the semi-punk rock, slacker vibe you've got going." Leah smirked, appraising Maura's black leggings, black mini skirt, and vintage GoGos t-shirt.

"Easy, honey. We've talked about the snark rule before 11 a.m." Henry teased and kissed Leah's cheek. Maura thought she actually saw a partial defrost in Leah's icy demeanor. She watched as Leah looked up into Henry's eyes and almost, just barely, gave a smile.

"Anything for you, honey." Leah giggled. Embry and Seth made retching noises which ushered the return of the ice queen. "Shut it!' She snapped and threw her napkin at them.

"So, Maura, how long are you planning to stick around?" Seth asked between huge mouthfuls.

"That's a good question. Originally, I planned on stopping just a few days, but then I found - I mean, uh, I found…La Push so interesting." Maura recovered. She narrowly escaped revealing her quest for the Quileutes.

"La Push is _not _interesting." Leah commented. "You look tired by the way." Maura felt herself flush under the scrutiny of Leah's stare.

"Jeez, Leah. Enough. You are such a bitch sometimes." Embry turned to Maura. "I apologize for our _friend. _We all sort of have a love-hate relationship with her."

"Watch it, Embry." Henry glared at him, defending Leah's honor. Maura figured Leah would have something cutting to add in at this point, but she surprised everyone, except for apparently Henry, by grinning up at him with goo-goo eyes and leaning her head on his shoulder. Henry kissed the top of her head, and, as their eyes locked, Maura realized the look they shared between them was along the same intensity as what she had witnessed with Sam and Emily the night before.

"I'm full, and I'm tired. Ready, Babe?" Leah stood up suddenly. Maura hadn't noticed Leah had eaten much, but she looked down to see two empty plates. Leah grabbed Henry's hand and pulled him along behind her, towards the door. "Later!" She pushed through the crowd and they disappeared into the gray light and mid-morning drizzle.

"Leah. It happens for _Leah."_ Maura heard Embry mutter. There was that "it" again. Maura wasn't exactly sure, but she knew that "it" meant something significant.

Maura's order arrived and the remaining trio ate in silence for a few minutes. "Um, so I know we're in the rural northwest and all, but are there, like, a lot of wolves in this area?" Maura asked. Seth nearly spit out his orange juice. Embry stopped mid-chew, then swallowed loudly.

"Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. I seem to hear them, you know, calling or howling pretty often. I didn't think they'd get so close to a populated area." Maura watched intently for some kind of sign. They were uncomfortable, that was for sure.

"Well, it is wolf territory. And the Fall. You know, the season just before most animals start hibernation." Seth's words ran out a little too quickly. Embry was nodding and looking relieved.

"So they don't really bother the hikers and campers and other, uh, humans?" She asked.

"No," Embry smiled at Seth and then at her, "they don't bother the humans."

_*****_

**A/N: Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6 Tingle

**A/N: **Okay, Maura makes some interesting progress in this chapter. And there are wolves involved!

Big love and thanks, as always, to my beta JDSK! Shout out to the little ATL coven - what would I do without all of you? And to Trixie for always being there and letting me buy her a copy of Twilight so she could join in the crack. Lastly, thank you to smellyia for her encouragement and HP crack, and to AngstGoddess003 for the banner (you ARE a goddess!) - now if I could only figure out how to add it to my story....

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I appreciate every single one, so keep them coming, please! And come post on my thread on the twilighted AU forum.

Disclaimer: SMeyer's.

Chapter 6 - Tingle

Maura stretched and rolled over in bed. Monday morning. Still in La Push. Yesterday had been both interesting and boring. After she finished brunch with Embry and Seth, the interesting part, they took off claiming they had work to do with Sam. The crowd had not thinned out at Emily's so Maura quickly vacated their booth, waved to Emily and decided to take a walk along First Beach. She walked, lost in thought, for a few hours before returning to her motel room. She spent the rest of the day on the boring part, reading old magazines and flipping through channels on the TV.

She had also taken a glance at her checkbook. The motel didn't cost a lot, and she had limited herself to two meals a day, taking leftovers back with her for snacks. But she was getting low on funds. If she was going to stay here much longer, she would need to find some kind of a job. That thought returned to her this morning as she forced herself out of bed and into the shower.

"Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, way back into lo-ove!" Maura sang the song from one of yesterday's many movies. "Ouch!" Shampoo ran into her eyes, and then up her nose as she sucked in a breath from the unexpected pain. She began coughing and was trying desperately to rinse her eye, nose, and hair when the static migraine suddenly roared to life inside her head. Her eyes flew open. "It's daylight this time. I've got to go."

Practically killing herself as she raced out of the shower, she grabbed a towel and ran to the bedroom to scramble for some clothes. She pulled on god knows what, threw her hair up into a very wet ponytail, grabbed her keys, and rushed out into the frosty morning air.

"Watch it," growled a middle aged man. She nearly bowled him over when she bolted from the door and into the parking lot.

"Crap! Sorry. Hey, did you happen to hear a wolf?" Okay. Good morning, crazy.

"A wolf? What are you -" the stunned man was cut off, then, by a distinct, long, very lupine howl. Maura's eyes burned as the noise in her head reached a deafening, mind numbing level. She bolted again, then stopped. Which way?

"Woods. Just past the break in the tree line,_" _the unexplained call seemed to tell her.

"Girl, you're gonna get yourself killed," the man called after her as she started out again, narrowly missing being hit by a car.

"Go faster_," _she willed herself. "I should have run track. I should have taken up something other than yoga_." _It took her about 20 minutes to make the two mile run to the part of the forest she was looking for. As she pushed through the low branches, the static began to switch in and out as the voices broke through.

"About time, dammit," Maura heard. Then, something that could have been laughter. " - missed you, man." Another voice, different from the first, but both somehow familiar.

Something unnamed pulled Maura to the northeast. As she pressed on, tree branches pulled and tore at her skin and clothes. "I estimate two weeks at the most." Maura felt the hairs on her neck and arms stand on end at the sound of yet another voice. She stopped to catch her breath and noticed something like a tingle weave its way up her arms, down her body, and end with a twist in her belly.

"What the hell_?" _She rested her hands on her knees, panting. She forced herself to keep going, perhaps another mile or so. The whole time she ran, she could hear the three voices, in and out, and she felt the vein in her right temple throb in time with the pounding of her feet.

"One week. You have to," the first voice demanded. Maura slowed to a stop. She couldn't go any farther. Weak from the strenuous run and lack of food, she unexpectedly collapsed, with a crash, onto the thick blanket of leaves on the forest floor. "Fuck!" she gasped in her mind.

"Stop. What has that?!" The first voice was alarmed. Maura froze. She wasn't that close to them was she? And she had not spoken aloud, had she?

"Wasn't me," answered second voice.

"Yeah. I heard something, too. Sounded like 'fuck.' Anyone out with you today," spoke the third voice, the tingly one. Maura strained her ears, but knew for certain that she was not hearing the voices with that particular sense. No. She wasn't that close to them that she would heard them with her ears.

"No. Huh….well, we better go. One week," the first voice ordered.

"Do my best -," answered the third voice before it cut out, replaced by static.

Maura stayed frozen in place, just in case. She closed her eyes, trying to ease the pain in her head.

She must have stayed like that for a while. She may have even dozed off. When she awoke, clear-headed, she sat up and looked around. 'Great. With this little escapade, I'm maybe two miles into the forest, off the beaten path, and I have no idea how to get back_.' _Remembering the course she had been pulled to follow, Maura turned around and began, what she hoped, was a trek to the southwest and towards La Push. She walked this time, worn out and not in the same kind of hurry. "What the hell was all that? How on earth can I hear voices inside my head that I know for certain are not coming from inside my head?" Two were so familiar. The first one seemed to maybe even be feminine. It couldn't be, could it? Could she be - hearing them_?_

She trudged along, one half of her determined and the other half caught in an emotional whirlwind. She was hearing voices. Didn't that just confirm her craziness? But it was real. She was not delusional. 'Probably what all crazy people tell themselves,' she thought while her chest rapidly tightened and panic began to set in. 'No, I'm not crazy. But I'm hearing other people. And I think those people are wolves.' Her panic began to mix with something like excitement and anticipation. She stopped walking as she finally neared the edge of the forest. She tried to take slow, deep breaths and still her mind. 'I can deal with this. Damn, I wish I had a Xanax. I am so freaking out right now.' She started walking again. The rhythm of her footsteps pounded out her emotional grab bag: panic, excitement, anxiety, anticipation, fear. 'No. I will not freak out. I can't. Whatever this is, whatever it means, I know it's the answer I have been looking for.'

_*****_

**A/N: Don't forget to review! **


	7. Chapter 7 Caught

**A/N: **The pieces of the puzzle are beginning to come together in this chapter, and Maura starts to set down roots.

Thank you to MyBlueSide, Britt01, Tears of Mercury, sles, Gryffindor Gurl 2, and Trixie for your reviews and comments. They help so much! And thanks, again, to Tears of Mercury for creating my new banner! Come see it (before I figure out how to use it) on my thread on the AU forum at twilighted (dot) net. Thanks to Angel just for being Angel!

Thanks, hugs, and psychic goodness to the awesome JDSK. If you had an aura photograph, it would be all the pretty colors!

Disclaimer: SMeyer's.

Chapter 7 - Caught

Maura arrived at Emily's sometime before the lunch rush. Good. She needed quiet so she could think. She picked a seat in the center of the almost empty counter and scanned the menu.

"Hey, Maura!" It was Embry, coming from the kitchen. He leaned his elbows on the counter. "Hungry?"

"Starved." Maura's stomach gave a growl. She was ferociously hungry all of a sudden. "Can you still do breakfast? I would love an omelet, a big one, with some coffee." Her head still slightly hurt, like the last remnants of a hangover.

"Sure thing. I'll get right on it." As Embry turned to go back into the kitchen, the phone beside the register rang. He paused to pick it up. "Hey, Kim. Yeah, okay, I'll tell her. No worries. We'll manage." Embry hung up and disappeared into the back. Maura heard him shout out, "Hey, Emily, that was Kim. Her morning sickness is at it again. She can't come in."

Maura tuned out the conversation and other noises around her and laid her head down on the counter. Why were the voices she heard familiar? Well, two of them. Why did they cut through the static? Why did the static that had plagued her for years, since she was a little girl, now seem so tied to this particular place? This particular group of people? Why didn't being here in boring, wet La Push for going on her second week feel strange? It somehow, in some way, felt more right than Atlanta ever had. Why?

A few minutes later, Emily appeared, carrying a thick folder with papers sticking out at odd, random angles. She put her pen behind her ear and adjusted her bangs so that they fell back over her scar. "I've got to place this order before the rush. Then, I'll call around and see if someone can come in." Maura raised her head slightly from the counter. Emily was talking to herself. As she dialed the phone and placed her order, Maura sat up straighter.

'Hmmm,' she thought. 'I'm running out of money. I've got no place else to really go. Emily is short handed today. Well, why the hell not?'

Emily hung up the phone and sighed.

"Um, Emily. I don't mean to be nosy or anything, but I overheard Embry -" Just then he walked out with her breakfast and set it down in front of her.

"Did I hear my name?" Embry grinned. Emily laughed.

'Soooo cute. Okay, Maura, stop. He has a girlfriend. You are not here for this,' she thought.

"Yeah. I was just telling Emily that I overheard you saying that someone called out today. I, um, I could use a job. If one's available. Even temporary." She looked hopefully at both of them.

"Planning to stick around, then?" Emily smiled. "The lunch rush hits in exactly 15 minutes. You ever waitress?" Maura shook her head no. "Well, eat quickly, sweetie. You're about to learn. The pay is okay, the tips are great, and I definitely need you. Kim's pregnancy has been rough and she's only 5 months in. I don't think we'll have her much longer at all. Jared says the doctor has hinted at bed rest. So, congratulations, Maura. You've got a job. Oh, can you pull a double today?"

"Yes. And thank you." Maura shoveled the food in as fast as she could. Jeez. La Push, Washington. Who would have thought?

*****

The rest of the week passed by much more quickly thanks to her newfound waitressing career. Emily mostly needed her from the breakfast rush to the late afternoon, when the lunch crowd subsided and they could prep for dinner. Embry worked mid-morning through close, claiming he was a night owl and couldn't be woken from the dead until at least 10 every morning. Maura and Embry had fallen into an easy friendship. She had even met his girlfriend, Karen, who stopped in on her way to the classes she was taking at the community college in Forks. She was incredibly sweet and head over heels in love with Embry, so Maura made sure to alter her initial flirtatious relationship with Embry to something undeniably platonic. She was glad. She needed a friend.

And she was learning about the pack just from being at Emily's so much. Leah and Seth usually made at least one appearance a day. As did their mother, who Maura was surprised to learn was the lady who had spoken to her at the summer festival a few weeks ago. Leah's attitude remained icy. Maura chalked it up to the fact that some girls were just bitches, and Leah must definitely be one of those. And yet, she could also sense something very protective in her underneath, somewhere. Seth was still shamelessly flirting with her. So obviously, in fact, that his own mother felt the need to shut him down herself one afternoon when he became quite persistent in trying to secure a date with Maura as she was getting off her shift for the evening. He had laughed it off, though. He was decidedly lovable, but Maura didn't think there was a spark there at all. She did gather from all his chatter that Seth and Leah were also "night owls," often dragging in sluggishly for breakfast most mornings.

In addition, several other members of the pack stopped in, and Maura tried to find creative ways to eavesdrop on every conversation. Most of their banter was trivial, normal stuff, but she caught two very notable exceptions. The first being that someone named Jacob was supposed to return to town soon and this news had all of them ecstatic, yet simultaneously melancholy. The second was a cryptic reference to what they referred to as "them" either coming back or getting too close. They had been talking about both on and off since Tuesday, and three days later was no exception.

Maura was refilling ketchup at the counter sometime after noon when Sam, Paul, and Quil came in at their usual time for lunch. Maura waved and continued refilling messily with one hand, while she scrawled their usual order on a ticket and hung it at the kitchen window for Embry and Jared.

"Hi, Maura. Emily back from shopping yet?" Sam asked. They took seats at the counter in front of her.

"She just called. There was some police detour between here and Port Angeles. She'll be another 15 or 30 minutes." She was turning around, recapping the ketchup as she answered, and didn't see Sam's posture stiffen, causing Paul and Quil to do the same. Just then, Jared and Embry came barreling out from the back, swinging the kitchen door into the side of her head. Maura yelped and staggered back.

"Shit! Are you okay?" Embry asked as Jared pushed past, oblivious, and yelled to another waitress to switch the TV to the news channel.

"Local authorities have begun cooperating with state agencies as this, the fifth in a string of unsolved missing persons cases in the Port Angeles area, has stretched personnel and resources to the county limit." The news reporter was standing on what looked like the highway between Forks and Port Angeles. Flashing blue lights, uniformed officers, and an uncharacteristic traffic jam cluttered the scenery in the background.

As the reporter continued, Maura heard the bell above the door ring, and Leah and Seth burst into the diner. "Turn it to channel - oh, good, you've got it on." Leah called.

Maura's vision began to swim as pain throbbed through her temple. She grabbed her head where the door had hit just as her knees gave way and she began to fall to the floor. "Fuck!" she gasped.

Embry and Leah turned towards her at the same time. Embry dove to catch her before she hit the ground, while Leah's eyes bored a hole in her already pounding skull.

"What did you just say?" Leah barked sharply. Her eyes narrowed and locked with Maura's.

"Jared just accidentally smacked her in the head with the kitchen door. Jeez, I didn't know you were hit that hard." Embry guided Maura around the counter and gently deposited her into the nearest booth. "I'll get you some ice." He maneuvered around Leah, who had planted herself next to the booth as she continued her visual standoff. "Move. Leah, what's your problem? Seth, Jesus, move!" Embry shoved past Seth who now stood behind Leah.

"What did you just say?" Leah repeated. Sam grabbed the remote from behind the cash register and muted the television. He turned towards Leah, Seth, and Maura.

"What's going on?" As the dizziness faded, Maura was aware of the stern, almost parental tone in Sam's voice. "Leah?" He demanded.

"Leave her alone, Leah." Embry pushed back past them and handed a baggy of ice to Maura. He turned and crossed his arms, glaring at Leah.

"Leah?" Sam was more insistent.

"She asked her, 'What did you just say?'" Seth repeated. Maura stared around Embry. Leah's stance was almost rigid, on full alert, and her eyes were suspicious. Seth's expression was more curious and slightly confused.

"I said, 'Fuck!' Now stop staring at me."

"No. Say it again. The same way."

Sam stood up. "Okay, this is -"

"Weird? Inappropriate? Incredibly bitchy?" Embry replied.

"Wait, Embry," Seth requested more gently. "Leah's right. Maura, say that again. The same way."

The ice hadn't begun to numb the pain in her temple yet and her head ached. Maura felt like she was being interrogated. She looked around. Everyone was staring at them. At her. 'What the-' she began in her head - "Fuck!" she gasped out loud. Leah took a step forward. Maura leaned back. 'Are you kidding me?!' she thought frantically, sure Leah was about to plant her fist into her face.

"You!" Both Leah and Seth shouted. And then Leah, by herself, and more quietly. "You?"As their eyes locked, Maura felt suddenly, undeniably exposed. Caught. What the hell was going on? And then, almost an instant later, comprehension dawned. Leah knew_. _They had heard her_._

"Oh. My. God." Maura's eyes closed. Her thoughts raced and jumbled into each other until one distinct command came to the forefront of her mind: Run! She tried to bolt from the booth, but collided with Embry's back.

"Oh, no you don't." Leah grabbed Maura's arm. "We need to talk." She pulled Maura around Embry.

"What's going on, Leah?!" Sam was standing now.

"It's okay." Maura looked at Sam, then Embry. "I think we do need to talk." And she followed Leah out the door, Seth trailing along behind them.

*****

The ride to Leah's apartment was quick and silent. They had hopped into Leah's Suburban without a word and by unspoken agreement had remained that way. Now they sat awkwardly in Leah's living room.

Maura finally broke the tension. "So… 'fuck'…huh?" She tried to laugh.

"Explain," Leah snapped.

"I c-can't. I don't know what this is. Do you?" She shifted to look over at Seth. Leah was too intense to handle.

"How long have you heard us?" he asked.

"Just twice. Usually it's…this static. I don't know how to explain it." She chanced a glance back at Leah, whose eyes were thankfully closed.

"Static?" Leah asked, keeping her eyes shut as she leaned her head back on the couch.

"Yeah. The static thing, well, I've had that most of my life. I just thought it was, um, that I was…you know, crazy. I've never heard voices before, though. Not until I came here."

Leah's eyes opened, then. And a moment later the phone rang.

"Jake," she answered, knowing instantly who it was without having to ask. "Uh-huh. Something told you to _call_? Hmmm. How close are you?" There was a pause as she listened. Then, "Kamloops?! Why didn't you tell me? So, are you at your cousin's?" Another pause. "Okay. Listen, we need to talk tonight. And you, uh, needto get back here." She cut her eyes to Maura. "Wait. On second thought, you need to call_, _on an actual phone again." She paused, listening. "Well…just call tonight, okay?" Leah hung up.

"So -" Maura began, but Leah cut her off.

"Seth and I need to talk now." She stood up, strode over to the door, and held it open.

Alright-y then. "Can we talk about this?" Maura walked through the doorway and turned around. "You're _them, right? The -"_

"_Not now." Leah shut the door._

_*****_

**A/N:** Reviews are golden and so helpful. I'd love to hear your thoughts!


	8. Chapter 8 Eavesdropping

**A/N: **The chapter title says it - Maura does some eavesdropping and gets some more information. She also gets a replay of that tingle from chapter 6!

Thank you to JDSK, my beta, for all the support. You rock!

Thank you to those of you kind enough to review: Lil-Evans, Gryffindor Gurl2, Britt01, sles, Bronze Star, Tears_of_Mercury, MyBlueSide, victorypickle, Aelyaniara, and DreamOnDreamer. Your support, questions, guesses, and suggestions are awesome. I really appreciate that you took the time to give some feedback. Come join me on my thread on the AU forums at twilighted(dot)net - under Love and Gravity.

Disclaimer: Smeyer's.

Chapter 8 - Eavesdropping

Maura stood outside Leah's apartment building, not sure what to do. Leah and Seth. She'd _heard _them. They were part of this thing that was calling her into the woods, and they were part of the pack. And the pack was part of the Quileute legend. "Come _on_." She muttered. "Werewolves and cold ones? Really?"

She jumped then as her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. "Hello?"

"Maura, it's Emily. I'm back at the diner. Sam needs Embry and Jared. I'm short handed for the rest of the night. Can you come back in?" Emily's voice sounded strained.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Maura said good-bye and hung up. As she walked briskly back to the diner, she noticed the temperature drop and the wind pick up. Great. It was going to storm tonight. The one stormy night she'd spent in La Push had rattled the hell out of her. It had been so dark and fierce, and she'd felt that the tiny motel where she was staying was going to blow right off the cliff and into the land of Oz.

She nearly tripped when her phone unexpectedly buzzed again. "Hello?!"

"Hi, there, Mo Mo. It's your Gran." A soft voice responded. Maura noticed it didn't sound as strong as usual. She was immediately wracked by guilt. She had not checked in with Gran in several days. Again. They chatted, catching up, until Maura reached the diner. She hung up feeling calmer. Gran could always make her feel better.

"Hi, Emily. I'm back!" Maura called out. Emily stood up from where she was bent behind the counter, cleaning.

"Thank you for coming in. It should be a slow night for a Friday if this storm rolls in." Emily smiled but didn't quite meet Maura's eyes.

"Everything okay?" Maura asked.

"Yep. How's your head?" Oh that. Of course Emily would have been filled in on everything that happened earlier that afternoon.

"I think it's okay. Thanks. Um, Emily -" she was cut off by the ringing of the diner's phone. Since Emily's arms were full, Maura walked over and answered. "Hello, Emily's. "

"Uh…who's this?" A deep voice asked.

"It's Maura. New waitress. Can I help you?"

"New waitress? Where's Kim?" The voice sounded nice; confused, but nice.

"I'm sorry, who is this?"

The voice laughed. "No, I'm sorry. I should have already said that. My name's Jacob. I'm…a long lost friend of the family."

Maura gasped softly. That laugh. And then, there it was, again - the tingle. Could this be the third voice?

Emily interrupted then. "Who is it, Maura?"

"Jacob." she replied, handing over the phone.

Emily tore the phone from her grasp. "Jacob Black!" She cried happily into the receiver. "We've missed you so much. You know, you will always be one of my boys. When are you coming back?" Then she looked over at Maura, giving her the impression that she did not want to be overheard.

Maura grabbed the cleaning supplies from the floor and headed through the kitchen to the back of the restaurant. Jacob Black. The Jake who had called Leah a little while ago? The third voice? She pushed open the office door and set the cleaning products in the supply closet. Then she turned and stared at the office phone. 'No, Maura. Don't do it.' Her hand reached toward the receiver. 'Don't. You shouldn't.' But she did. She carefully, quietly picked up the phone, hit the "talk" button, and held the receiver to her ear.

"Things are a little intense right now. And weird." Emily was saying. "You heard about the missing persons thing in Port Angeles? Sam thinks some of them are back. We just don't know who, and they haven't moved as far south as Forks or La Push because there's no trail."

"Yeah, I've been tracking that story. Heard about it when I got to Kamloops. My dad wired money to my cousin's place. I've been here for a few days, trying to be normal again." He laughed sarcastically. "I can check it out myself. I'm on my way home tomorrow."

"I'm glad you finally communicated with Leah. She said it's been several months. But you need to be careful, Jake. You're alone right now." Emily cautioned.

"I know. You don't have to worry about me, Emily. The past two years have given me the opportunity to test out lots of theories. I've found I can handle just about anything. And get over anything, too." Jacob sounded sad but defiant.

"I'm glad, Jacob. Love is a funny thing, whether it's the right one or the wrongone." Emily replied.

"Yeah. Well. Not talking about that. So, what else do I need to know? When I called Leah a little while ago, she sounded incredibly weird. Said we need to talk. Nothing happened with Henry, did it?"

"No. Henry's great. Just working night shift a lot, which has Leah tense. The forest rangers have all been trying to assist with the missing persons recovery, doing recon in the woods." Emily laughed softly. "Henry hates the fact that Leah is so worried about him. You should see him, Jake. He's this huge, strapping guy. He says it's humiliating to have his woman protecting him like that. But Leah's weird for other reasons, too."

"Oh yeah? Well, I think we've always known Leah was weird." They both cracked up. "What is it this time?"

"Well. We think Seth may have become some sort of bridge, I guess you'd say. Between Sam's group and yours. He's able to communicate with both sides. Your dad's theory is that since you took off, it was some kind of necessity. Leah, of course, wants no part of being back with Sam. And then, well…I don't know if I should say anything on this one, Jacob. Sam hasn't really filled me in since things just recently went down, but I have my own theories. I'll let you figure it out when you get back." Emily finished.

"Thanks, Em, leave me hanging."

"I've got to go, Jacob. The dinner rush is going to start soon, and Sam called a mandatory patrol. In fact, it's everyone, and Leah and Seth have agreed to hang around here tonight. I just hope it storms and keeps business at a low. My nerves are shot."

"Hang tight, Emily. You know you're in good hands. I'm going to try to reach my dad. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, Jacob. Welcome home."

Maura quickly pushed the "off" button and replaced the receiver on the base. She replayed the conversation in her mind. They were worried about the missing persons cases in Port Angeles for some reason. They also think whoever is responsible, "some of them," are back. Who? And back from where? And Seth could "communicate" with both groups. Maura wondered if they meant the kind of communication she had just discovered she had with Leah and Seth. Did they all do that? Or was it a…pack thing?

"Maura?" Emily called impatiently to her from the front of the restaurant. She shot back out to the counter and tried to look natural.

*****

**A/N: **Reviews are win (and very appreciated)!


	9. Chapter 9 Billy Black

**A/N: **Maura starts wondering about Jacob and gets grilled by his old man. Oh, and the static is back!

Thank you to gryffindor gurl2, timunderwood9, dreamondreamer, myblueside, britt01, aelyaniara, and the teddy bear in your bathroom for your reviews. Thank you to Tears_of_Mercury for all her support and friendly chatter on the twilighted(dot)net AU forum (come join us).

As always - I heart JDSK for the beta thing and so much more!

Disclaimer: Smeyer's

Chapter 9 - Billy Black

Maura was still panting a little from her mad dash back to the front of the restaurant after listening in on Emily's phone call with Jacob Black. She winced slightly as Emily studied her curiously.

"Alright. I'm going to do all the cooking tonight, but you can prep salads and help with sides. You'll do the counter. Sue Clearwater is coming in to cover tables," Emily explained, still eyeing her suspiciously.

"Got it," Maura said, not meeting Emily's eyes. She felt Emily staring, which was unusual for her. Maura reluctantly met her gaze. She flushed and opened her mouth to try to say something, anything, when the door opened.

"Helluva'n evening." Maura turned to find Sue Clearwater wheeling Billy Black in to the restaurant. She made sure he was comfortably seated in a booth near the counter before joining them. "Hi, Maura. Emily." She smiled. Maura was suddenly frozen. Billy Black, Jacob Black. Was Billy Jacob's, third voice's…father?

"Maura, why don't you get started in the kitchen. I'll be right there," Emily directed, snapping Maura out of her fixed stare. Emily and Sue went to sit down in Billy's booth.

Maura retreated to start chopping vegetables. She wished she could hear them better. Their voices were just soft mumbles. 'Strange that I can hear Leah, Seth, and third voice. Well, strange that I can hear voices at all, but it's not like I'm reading minds or anything.' She walked to the sink and began to wash lettuce. 'No, I think I can only hear them after the static, when they are… wolves? And Seth can hear Sam? God, this is unbelievably weird. '

"Earth to Maura."

Maura jumped as she dropped the last of the lettuce leaves into the strainer. "Sorry, Emily. I was spaced out, I guess. I didn't hear you come in." She turned to bring the lettuce back to the cutting board.

"I guess there's a lot to think about." Emily was hinting at more.

Maura blushed. "Yes. I guess you, uh, know something about it then," she said, searching Emily's face. There was a guardedness that had not been there before. Maura felt so much like an outsider at that moment. 'Why am I not at home? I don't belong here. Do I,' she asked herself.

"Billy Black would like to meet you," Emily stated, interrupting her thoughts.

"Oh. Okay." Maura followed Emily back out to the dining area and over to Billy's booth. Sue was busy waiting on a table of kids from Forks who were in a hurry to get back before the storm hit. Maura forced herself to look at Billy. She was incredibly anxious for some reason. When their eyes met, Maura took a shaky breath.

"Don't be nervous. Please sit down," Billy invited. He smiled at her. His voice was soft and quiet, with a hint of some quality that she had noticed in Jacob's when they had spoken on the phone. "It's nice to meet you, Maura. I'm Billy Black."

"N-nice to m-meet you." She extended a shaking hand as she sat down. God, why was she so nervous? "You're a wonderful, uh, s-storyteller," she stammered.

"It helps when it's something you're passionate about. Legends, though. Not stories." His smile faded and his eyes became serious. "I've spoken to Sam this evening." Oh, no. He was obviously referring to the thing with Leah that afternoon. How much did everyone know? Had Leah talked to them? "Where are you from, Maura?" he asked gently.

Maura studied his face for a moment. His eyes were serious but kind. 'I wonder if Jacob has those eyes.' She shook her head slightly to clear the thought. "I'm from Atlanta," she finally answered. He seemed to be waiting for her to continue, so she launched into a Cliff's Notes version of her life story. "My mom died when I was five. My dad raised me, mostly. But he remarried, and I never, uh, fit in. So, I left to live with my Gran. Then I left for college, and now I'm here."

"Atlanta," he questioned. Maura nodded. He sat very still for several moments. "Your last name?"

"Black. It's actually my mom's last name. My dad is Jones, but my mom never took his name and for some reason, it is what she put on the birth certificate for me. Maura Jones Black."

Billy nodded thoughtfully. "Georgia? No connection somewhere else?"

"Mom was from South Carolina, originally. She wasn't close to her family, and my dad wasn't really close to his, but they settled near his in Atlanta. Gran is my dad's mother." Why was he asking her these questions? Why was she so freely answering?

"I hope I'm not being intrusive, Maura. I have just a few more questions, if that's alright," Billy asked and smiled. She nodded. "You didn't know your mother well, then. Did she ever mention living elsewhere, other than South Carolina or Georgia?"

"Mom didn't talk about it, that I can remember. But my Gran did. She has told me about her some. She's the only one who will talk about her. She said that both before and after my mom and dad met, my mom had traveled out west. She said she had urged my dad to move, but he refused." Maura paused and took a moment to still herself. For some reason, her pulse was racing. "My mom was, um, she was crazy. She was this force that blew into my dad's life and then she kind of had this ADD quality to her that had to be moving and going somewhere all the time. My dad, I don't think, ever understood her or could keep up. She had a lot of energy. And she had the same…uh…headaches and stuff that I do. I'm like her in that way, Gran says. Other than that, I think I'm an alien because I'm not really like either of my parents." Maura made herself stop talking. Why was she pouring her heart out to Billy Black?

Just then the door blew open as the entire pack entered, with Sam in the lead. Leah pushed herself past Paul and Jared to stand behind Sam. She looked over to see Maura sitting with Billy and stopped short, causing the guys to bump into her. She narrowed her eyes in a mixture of suspicion and curiosity.

"Sam!" Emily exclaimed. "I've got dinner ready for everyone, if I can get my star waitress back on the job. Why don't you all sit over by Billy? His dinner is ready, too." Emily gave Sam a quick kiss and a hug.

"Yeah. Let's eat. It's going to be a long night," Sam replied.

*****

A half hour later, Maura realized she had been so busy she had not had much time to process her conversation with Billy. He was sipping coffee and talking in earnest with Sam and Leah, their heads bent close to one another's. The crowd from Forks had just left, and there were only two other people in the diner, besides Billy and the pack. Both were truckers, trying to get a quick bite to eat and leave before the weather turned too severe.

"Hey, Em, we're caught up in back. Can I step outside for a minute?" Maura asked. She needed some fresh air and time to think.

"Sure. You might need this, though." Emily handed her a rain coat. Maura grabbed it and was slipping it on as she passed Billy's table. Leah looked at her, and Maura stiffened, prepared for some harsh comment. But Leah only stared.

Once outside, Maura took a deep breath. The wind was whipping through the trees with considerable gusts now and a slanting rain had begun to fall. The sun was just setting, its final rays peeking from behind the storm clouds were green and ominous. 'Why, really, am I here,' Maura asked herself. It felt right, even though she was an outsider. Just like it had felt right to talk to Billy. Something was rooting her to this spot. Something that had to do with static and voices and instincts. And Leah, and Seth, and the third voice. "And Billy Black," she said aloud. She leaned back against the window of the diner. She heard the door open and felt someone come to stand beside her, so she turned her head. "Hey, Seth."

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yep. I think. I don't know." Maura was surprised to hear herself admit that out loud. She smiled weakly up at Seth's furrowed brow.

"I think Emily might close for the night soon. The forecast is calling for a pretty bad storm. I'll be around if you need someone to walk you home."

Maura frowned a little. He wasn't hitting on her again, was he? She looked intently into his eyes. No, oddly he didn't seem like he was anymore. "Thanks, Seth. If this one is anything like two weeks ago, I will take you up on that. Or just hide out here in one of the booths."

"Well, I'll be in and out. Just let me know."

"In and out in this weather? And it's Friday night. No big plans around here? No keggers?"

Seth laughed wistfully. "I don't get out much, I guess. But no, no keggers."

Once back inside, Maura learned that Emily did, indeed, plan to close the diner around 8 PM. She sensed an almost tangible nervousness in her tonight and knew it was not completely due to the storm.

"Alright, Em, we're out of here. I'll get in touch with Seth in a while, and he can keep you posted. It might be a long night, baby." Sam held both of Emily's hands as she stood in front of him. "Seth is out first, to keep the lines of communication going. Leah will stay here, unless Seth needs her." He kissed her forehead. "We'll be fine. And you'll be fine. Billy and Sue are going to stick around with you, too. But if the storm slacks up, then why don't you all head over to our place?" He lowered his voice, but Maura, who was listening so hard she thought her ears would bleed, heard the rest. "Maura, too, Emily. Keep her with you."

As the large group rose to leave, a loud crack of thunder shook the windows of the diner. Maura jumped and nearly dropped the plates she was clearing.

"That's my cue to leave." One of the truckers stood up from the counter. The other nodded agreement. They both hurried to pay and left. In a few moments, the entire place was empty except for Emily, Sue, Billy, Leah, and Maura.

"Well, I think I'll go start on those dishes. Come on, Leah," Sue called as she disappeared into the kitchen. Leah grumbled but followed her mother.

"Can I get you a refill," Maura asked Billy. He shook his head and reached to answer his ringing cell phone.

"Hello? Hey there," Billy's face broke into a huge smile. Maura decided to go wipe down tables while Emily went to the office to work on the books for a while.

Maura did not want to be completely obvious as she eavesdropped on Billy's conversation, so she plunked some quarters in the mini jukebox by the door and chose a few songs to play. As she neared his table, she caught part of Billy's conversation and stopped singing along to the music.

"It's been too long, son. And I'm an old man." Billy chuckled as he admonished the caller. Maura noted he called him son. Could it be Jacob? "No, I'm hanging out at the diner tonight. Seth is staying close while the others head north." Pause. "As a matter of fact…" He turned so he could look at Maura, who blushed and tried unsuccessfully to pretend she had not been listening in. "Yes, but they are not hunches. And I know more than you ever give me credit for," Billy laughed heartily. "Bye." He hung up. "I'll take that refill now," he told Maura, and winked.

Several minutes later, the diner phone rang. "Got it!" Maura yelled out. "Hello, Emily's Bar and Grill."

"Hey." It was him. Jacob. Maura sucked in her breath. God, just the one word sounded so nice and tingly. "Maura, right? It's Jacob Black again. Is Leah Clearwater there by any chance?"

"Um. Yes. She's in the back with Sue. I'll just -"

"No, wait. I mean, I've been trying her cell phone, but um…,"he trailed off for a second, like he was stalling for time. "Crowded tonight?"

"No. Dead." Just then the line crackled as lightening lit up the sky. "Uh, I don't think we should be on the phone in a storm. Isn't there some rule?"

"Yeah. You're probably right. I guess I'll just talk to Leah real quick," Jacob replied.

"Leah!" Maura yelled as she covered the phone. Sue came to the kitchen window.

"She took off to meet Seth, Maura. She'll be back," Sue said.

"Oh. There's a phone call for her. Uh," she took her hand from the phone. "I guess she stepped out for a bit, J-Jacob." Great. More stuttering. She noticed Billy staring at her, amused. "Can she call you back? Where are you?"

"Port Angeles, now. Hey, do you know where she went," he asked.

"To meet Seth. I'll tell her to call you right when she gets back -"

"Oh. No, that's okay, Maura. Gotta go." He hung up abruptly.

Maura replaced the phone in its cradle on the wall. She felt Billy still watching her. She blushed and noticed the tingling feeling hadn't gone away. 'Weird, weird,' she thought. Thunder cracked, and she jumped again. And then she grabbed her forehead. The static was back and it raged immediately. "AH," she clutched her head in pain and reached for the raincoat she had borrowed earlier. She staggered towards the door, her instincts in hyper drive. The pull and the static were at an all time high.

"Hey, where are you going? You can't go out in this," Billy called after her, but Maura barely heard him. She paused as she opened the door and another streak of lightning speared the darkening sky. It was crazy to go out in the storm. Her rational brain knew that, but her instincts kicked in and the pull was undeniable. She took off into the night.

*****

**A/N: **Shameless plea for reviews. What do you think?


	10. Chapter 10 Tilt

**A/N: **This took a little longer than expected, but here it is - the face to face meeting with a little action/adventure thrown in beforehand. This is my longest chapter by far, so I hope you enjoy.

Thank you to those of you who have put this story on your favorites - very cool! I know some don't like the shout outs in the A/N, but I am very grateful to those of you who take the time to review. So: thank you for your feedback Gryffindor Gurl 2, dreamondreamer, innocentromantic, Britt01, sles, Tears_of_Mercury, aelyaniara, myblueside, ashmerlin, Constance Bleu, timunderwood9, Lucie-Madeleine, wishiwasbella781, and Lil-Evans.

Finally, to the incredible JDSK. I heart you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing this with me for this long.

Chapter 10 - Tilt 

Jacob knew there was a reason he decided to leave Kamloops and head home today instead of waiting until morning. Leah had not sounded right earlier that afternoon, but he didn't know if it was because of the recent vampire attacks in Port Angeles or the "other thing" Emily mentioned. He knew Sam's pack was hunting just south of Port Angeles, trying to intercept the bloodsuckers before they got near La Push, and he knew Seth was acting as bridge - guarding La Push and keeping communication open between the two packs. His father had given him that information when he called. He hoped to meet up with Sam's group and get in on the action a little, but now that he learned that Leah had left the diner to meet up with Seth, he was worried.

He hung up the pay phone by the random gas stationed he had stopped in and took off for the nearby woods. He phased instantly once he hit the trees. In the dark and with the stormy weather, he knew no one would be out watching.

"Leah," he demanded immediately after phasing. He waited a few seconds. Surely he was within range to hear them. "Leah! Seth! What's going on?"

"Jacob. We're here." Leah finally answered. "We're still in La Push. I came to check on Seth and see what was going on. He can't talk to us right now because he's listening to Sam's pack. Where are you?"

"Heading your way out of Port Angeles."

"What? Why? I thought you would be home tomorrow. Why didn't you call me back?" Leah was confused and irritated.

Jacob laughed. "I called your cell five times like some stalker boyfriend. Then I called Emily's and that new chick, Maura, said you had gone to meet Seth. I got worried."

"Well, Seth says that Sam figures there are only three bloodsuckers causing all the damage. Paul and Quil have been doing some investigating the past few days." She paused and sighed impatiently. "Obviously they're not "vegetarians." But we think they might have been headed to Forks. They might have known about, you know, um, _them._"

"Yeah. Okay. Visitors who don't know the house rules, I guess," Jacob replied. "Look, Leah, you don't have to walk on egg shells around me anymore."

"Good. That's good, Jake." Her tone was soft. " Listen, Seth is back."

"Hey, Jake! Sam says they've got it under control. They picked up a trail leading towards Forks and they picked up a fresh human kill within our boundaries. So, Embry and Jared are heading down to the southwest, and Sam will take the rest of the pack and follow the trail," Seth reported.

"Tell Sam that Jake is in Port Angeles," Leah suggested.

A minute later, Seth laughed, "Sam says if you want in on the action, you need to get about ten miles south in about ten minutes. Leah and I are going to head towards the borderline from here, just in case there are more than three."

"Okay, I'll see you two soon. Let's go have some fun," Jacob replied as he took off running.

Ten minutes later, Jacob met up with Sam, Paul, and Quil. He fell into equal step with Sam, and though they could not communicate mentally, their body language and instincts kept them on the same page. Jacob could hear Leah, though, and knew that they were still near La Push.

"What's the hold up?" Jacob asked.

"Nothing. Seth thought he heard something. We're giving it a few minutes. In this rain, it would be crazy for anyone to be out, but we want to make sure it isn't one of the bloodsuckers, either."

Just then, a voice broke through. "I can't see anything. Between the damn thunder and the fucking annoying static I -"

"No fucking way," Leah mentally yelled.

"Leah?!" Jacob heard an almost-familiar voice shout.

He slowed his pace. "Who the hell is that, Leah?"

"Go back, now," Leah commanded.

"Who, me," Jacob asked.

"No. Maura_. _Now. You don't know what the hell you're doing -," Leah snarled.

Seth broke in. "Leah, we've got to move now. Embry and Jared cut off their path, but Jared's been injured."

"Where are you? I think I'm lost." Maura's thoughts were panicked. "Wait. Seth, there are four not three." Where the hell did that come from?

"How do you - they're headed this way. Embry is right behind them. Come on, Leah. Go back, Maura," Seth's mind screamed.

"Maura?!" Jacob was stunned. "What the hell?" Was the new waitress a wolf? He shook the questions from his head as he felt the tension from Sam build. They changed course and headed full speed to La Push. "We're on our way!"

"Maura, just turn around and run like hell. Go!" Seth ordered.

Hearing their panic, Maura decided to obey. And suddenly, she could sense the danger, just as she had unexplainably sensed the fourth presence a moment ago. She whipped around and began tearing through the forest as fast as she could. Tree branches and the thick underbrush scratched and clawed her as she pushed towards what she hoped was the way out. Suddenly something inhumanly fast crossed her path. Her breath caught and she skidded to a stop. "Déjà vu?! There's no way I've done this before," she thought, terrified.

"What? Maura, where are you? Keep running," Leah ordered frantically.

In the pitch black of the forest, Maura had no idea what she had just seen or where she was. She could be turned around and going in the wrong direction. Just then, a flash of lightning illuminated the sky in time with an earth-shaking boom of thunder. Maura gasped as her eyes locked with some_thing. _Whatever had just crossed her path was now standing before her. A man. With blood red eyes. "I'll die," she thought wildly. And then her dream, _the _dream, came rushing back to her. This was the dream.

"Vampire!" Realization took hold and her mind ordered her to run. Her body, however, remained frozen in place. Locked. The blood-red eyes narrowed as the vampire studied her. Why was it not attacking? "Be still," she commanded herself and forced her body to stop shaking. She very nearly held her breath, only taking slow, intermittent breaths through her nose as she forcefully blocked the noise of Jacob's pack inside her head.

"Maura?! Where are you? What's happened?" Leah's anxiety was just a faint buzzing. "Jacob, I can't hear her."

"Wait. Quiet!" Jacob commanded and paused for a moment. "She's there, but she's blocking us."

"Vampire." Maura thought as clearly as she could, hoping they would understand.

"She's…it's like she's still, calm. Her heart rate has slowed down." Jacob strained his mind to hear her. "Vampire. Did you get that, Leah? She's been caught! Get to her as fast as you can. Maura, if you can hear me, stay still. Just like you are. I can sense your heart rate slowing, which might be confusing the bloodsucker enough to buy us time to get to you."

"Yes." It was the only thought she could produce without succumbing to the panic that threatened to overtake her. Stillness. She hoped her gift would not fail her now, but her resolve was beginning to crumble. She felt the pinky of her left hand begin to shake and saw the vampire cut his gaze there. His pale face cracked into the most hideous smile she had ever seen. Her pulse roared to life again as she gasped desperately for air.

Just then, another large shadow came crashing across the path in front of her, growling. The vampire took off.

"GO!" It was Leah. Wolf Leah. And then another wolf, suddenly by her side, nudged her urgently and pushed her in a slightly different direction.

"Go!" It was Seth.

"Go!" This time it was Jacob, her "third voice." Maura looked around but could not see any others. "We're almost there, guys. Sam, Paul, and Quil have the other three. Embry will circle back to get Jared. I know you two can handle one bloodsucker by yourselves, but I'm on my way. Seth, get Maura home."

Seth pulled on Maura's raincoat with his teeth. "Now!" Maura took off running and didn't stop until she burst into the diner, with Seth at her heels the entire way.

*****

Maura sat shaking, wrapped in a blanket in front of the fireplace at Emily and Sam's. Billy and Sue were making coffee for everyone in the kitchen. Emily sat by the window, watching and waiting for Sam to return. Seth was watching Maura while pretending to have a conversation with Billy and his mom. It had been over an hour since Maura had come crashing into the restaurant from her little adventure. She had not spoken a coherent thought, but everyone seemed to understand what she had experienced.

"Sam," Emily whispered his name excitedly and rose to her feet. She went to open the door and was immediately swooped up into Sam's hug. He was followed inside by the rest of his pack, and Leah and Henry.

"Maura?" Seth walked quickly to her side as the small house became crowded. "Are you okay?" He put his hand on her shoulder.

Leah was right behind him, still holding Henry's hand. Her eyes found Maura's. "I don't have any answers, still. But, you're obviously connected somehow. So…."

Maura just nodded mutely. The others had settled in the kitchen or the living room around her as Sue attended their various scrapes and cuts. Someone, Embry, handed her a mug of coffee. She set it down quickly because her hands were still shaking. She tentatively peered around Leah and Henry, looking towards the door. Where was Jacob? Somehow, she needed to see him. To meet him. She looked away and met Billy's eyes. He smiled at her and wheeled himself to the door to wait for his son.

"Jacob's with Jared," Embry announced. "He took him home to Kim. His injuries aren't too bad. He may have broken a few ribs and he's got some bad cuts down his right side, but those will heal in a few days."

"Kim's going to need him home and well for a while," Emily said. "She's on partial bed rest already."

Sam sighed and rubbed his neck. "Yeah. We've been talking about it. Jared needs to bow out. He's ready, and he owes this to Kim and his baby. This was the first real threat in two years, and we can all handle things without him." Maura saw Emily frown and look down.

Apparently Leah did, too. "Yeah, well, there's a few more who need to settle down, as well." Emily met Leah's eyes and gave a weak smile.

"Um…,"Maura began softly. She didn't think anyone heard her until she noticed they had all turned in her direction. "W-what…happened?" She looked first at Seth, then Leah.

"Oh, boy," Henry said softly and squeezed Leah's hand.

"You saw what you think you saw," Leah began.

"In due time, Maura. Perhaps tomorrow," Billy interrupted. He met her eyes and Maura felt like she had known him a thousand years. Suddenly, Maura's shaking body began to tingle just as Billy turned his chair back towards the door and his face broke into a huge grin. "Jake!"

And then, there he was. Filling the doorway. Maura's eyes almost burned as she took him in. Impossibly tall. And, like the rest of them, he was dark with long black hair and deeply tan skin. And beautiful. There was no other word for it. He was the masculine version of beautiful. Handsome would not do it justice. She watched as he bent down low and took his father into a crushing bear hug.

"Welcome home, son," Billy's happy voice was choked with tears. Then Leah was on her feet, vaulting out of Henry's lap in her rush to embrace Jacob. Seth was close behind, followed by everyone else in the room. They were all talking at once, laughing and crying. Maura sat frozen in place. As the noise swirled around her, she suddenly felt like the ground was shifting or tilting. Her body finally stopped shaking, and she stood, letting the blanket around her shoulders fall to the floor. She felt like an intruder to this homecoming and yet, somehow, she knew she couldn't leave the room if she tried. She was motionless and therefore was momentarily forgotten.

Finally, the noise began to die down. Maura had not taken her eyes off Jacob, so she didn't realize when Quil broke from the crowd, announcing that he was going home to rest. "I'll see you tomorrow, man." He clapped Jacob on the back.

"I think it's a good idea if we all head home now," Sue suggested. She turned to get her jacket and gasped slightly when she saw Maura. All at once, everyone turned to look at her again. Including Jacob. "Maura," Sue said, "I'd forgotten -"

Maura couldn't hear the rest. Her eyes were locked onto Jacob's. The smile he had been wearing began to fade, and he gave a small gasp of his own. He took a step forward and then stopped himself. Maura felt like she was falling down a tunnel. No, she was being pulled. Her feet began to slowly carry her across the room.

"N-no. No!" She watched Jacob yell. His smile vanished completely, and then suddenly he was gone, racing out the door into the stormy night.

Maura felt the air rush out of her lungs and her vision began to swim. She reached out her hand to steady herself on something as she was suddenly falling. And then the room went black.

*****

'There is no way this is happening. No way! Not now.' Jacob's thoughts thundered through his mind as he ran, almost blindly, away from Sam's house. In a few minutes, he found himself down on First Beach and sought shelter against a cliff wall. He sank to the wet sand and put his head in his hands. 'After everything I've been through. I did not come back for this. I just came home. I will not let my life be decided for me.' His hands were gripping his hair. He tipped his face up to the dying storm and shouted, "I have a choice, god dammit!"

He must have sat there for hours. When he finally got home, to his father's house, he found Billy waiting up for him in the kitchen. "Jake -," Billy began.

"Let me change out of these clothes, Dad. We'll talk after. I promise." Jacob walked through the small house and into his old room. Almost nothing had changed in two years, other than the fact that someone had cleaned up. He rummaged through his drawers and found some old track pants and a t-shirt to change into. Wearily, he walked back into the kitchen and sat down across the table from his dad.

"Why did you take off," Billy asked quietly. When Jacob didn't answer right away, he continued. "It happened, didn't it?"

"I - no. Yes." He slammed his fist on the table. "Dammit, Dad, I don't want this." Tears stung his eyes and he furiously blinked them back. "I'm finally home. Finally able to come back and face…whatever. I'm finally my own person again."

"You can't control this, Jacob. It just happens. And it doesn't seek permission for the 'right' time," Billy explained.

"But I can control it. I _want _to. I thought maybe, because I chose first not to be alpha and then I purposely chose to split from the pack to be an alpha, that I could turn this off, too. If it ever happened. I honestly didn't think it would." His blood boiled with anger. "Who is she? Did you know?"

"No, son. I didn't know, but I had a hunch about something. An instinct. We sort of all knew she belonged here when she showed up out of the blue." Jacob shook his head in disbelief. Billy continued, "It is less of a legend than a story from recent history."

"What is? What are you talking about?"

Billy sighed. "I don't mean to frustrate you further, but we have had a long night. And Maura is coming here tomorrow. I asked her to. I think you both need to know the rest of it." He put his hand on Jacob's shoulder, then wheeled past him to his bedroom and closed the door. He heard Jacob curse and pad angrily down the hall to his room and slam the door.

*****

Later that morning, Jacob woke with a start. He sat up and looked around, realizing he was back in his house, in his old bed. He must have finally fallen asleep from exhaustion, after tossing and turning for what felt like hours.

As he swung his legs off the side of the bed, he felt a nauseating head rush. "God." The chills came on suddenly. "Gonna be sick!" He staggered out of his room and down the hall to the bathroom. He dove to his knees and threw up into the toilet.

"Jake! You okay," Billy called from the kitchen.

Jacob wiped sweat from his brow and pulled himself up to the sink to rinse his mouth. "Sick," he tried to yell back to his dad. The nausea momentarily subsided, so he weakly made his way to the living room and collapsed on the couch. "Time is it?" He found talking difficult.

"Ten. You don't look so good, son."

"Don't feel so good. Don't know where this came from." Jacob slung his arm over his eyes to block out the light coming in from the windows. Great. It was going to be sunny today.

"I'm sure you don't feel like continuing our talk, but Maura is supposed to be here soon," Billy informed him.

Jacob groaned. Maura. He may have forgotten briefly where he was when he woke up, but Maura had not left his thoughts for one minute, not even while he slept. He knew he needed to hear the rest of what his dad was trying to tell him last night, but he did not know if he was physically up to it. And she would be here, in his house. He would see her again, and he would feel it again. The pull. The shift. How was he going to ignore it? The thought made him queasy again. "Gonna be sick!" He shot upright and lurched back to the bathroom.

Several minutes later, after washing his face and brushing his teeth, Jacob returned to the front of the house. "Don't know if I can do this, Dad. Got the flu or some shit. Food poisoning." He fell face down on the couch this time.

"You're not sick. Technically, anyway," Billy chuckled.

What the fuck was funny? The ringing of the phone nearly cracked Jacob's skull open. "Hello," he heard Billy answer. Finally. It had rung like, twice, for god's sake.

"She's what? Anyone know where?" Billy sounded alarmed. Jacob forced himself to sit up and pay attention. "I see. Thanks, Leah." Billy hung up the phone. "Maura's gone," he told Jacob.

The words were barely out of his father's mouth when Jacob felt like the room was closing in on him. The air felt hot and suffocating, and his vision was getting dark around the edges. Maura was gone. That was good, though. Right? He didn't want to see her. To face the weight of what had happened. He didn't believe in that shit. So why was he about to black out, and why did his heart feel like it was breaking? Images flashed in his mind, in stunningly detailed clarity. Maura, standing in Sam's living room. Jacob saw it in slow motion. He processed details he had not been able to comprehend last night when he had run out so quickly after seeing her.

Maura's black hair, messy, falling around her face and shoulders. A hair band still desperately clinging to a few strands of what may have been a ponytail that had come undone. Slate gray eyes rimmed in black, staring into his. Long, dark lashes scarcely blinking as they had been pulled towards each other. Soft pink lips parted in wonder and shock at the events that had unfolded. Maura.

The next thing he knew, Billy's small house was filled to overflowing with people. The Clearwaters, and Henry, Sam, Emily, and Embry.

"She just left me a text, Billy," Emily said by way of greeting. "She's headed to Seattle to fly back to Atlanta. Her grandmother is sick," she sounded agitated.

Everyone stared at Jacob. "What?!" He growled, then winced in pain.

"What happened, Jake," Sam asked, though his expression indicated he knew.

Jacob desperately wanted to lie. He wasn't back in town for more than a few hours and already the pack and the wolf thing was controlling his life. He looked at the faces around him. They wore varying expressions of anxiety and concern.

And love.

Jacob sighed. Something told him to quit fighting the inevitable, but he would not give up his newfound independence easily. "Fine. It happened. I imprinted." He practically spat the word out. "Who the fuck is this Maura anyway?" No one said anything for several moments.

Finally, Henry spoke up. "Well, first of all, she's someone that all the unattached males around here have a huge crush on." Embry and Seth both laughed softly. "She's a stranger that feels like family. I think that's how you put it, right Leah?" They all turned to stare at Leah this time, incredulous.

"Yeah, well." Leah came close to blushing. "I didn't come to that conclusion until maybe three o'clock this morning. You know, my mom met her two weeks ago for like two seconds and invited her to the bonfire. Like she just knew she should be here. And no one thought twice about her being at the bonfire to hear the legends. And Embry and Seth are in love with her. And Emily had this "feeling" about her. And your dad had one of his famous hunches."

"And we can hear_ her," Seth added._

"_That's some shit," Jacob agreed. He laid back down on the couch. Was the room spinning?_

"_What the hell's the matter with you," Embry asked._

"_Sick. Flu," Jacob groaned again._

"_He's not sick. He's trying to ignore the imprint," Billy said. _

_Sue nodded in agreement. "We've seen this just one time before." She looked at Sam briefly and then at Billy. "There's some things you all need to know. And someone needs to go after Maura. She may be in the same shape as Jacob."_

_*****_

**A/N: **Reviews are win!


	11. Chapter 11 Motion Sickness

**A/N: **Two quick things: first, I got the most reviews yet for the last chapter. Thank you to everyone reading and to those taking the time to review (Gryffindor Gurl 2, trixie317, WishIWasBella781, Aelyaniara, Britt01, Lil-Evans, Victorypickle, DreamOnDreamer, MyBlueSide, Tears_of_Mercury, sles, Ashmerlin, timunderwood09, Constance Bleu, and Scarlet Swany).

Second, I am working with a new beta, the awesome DeeMichelle. She graciously and enthusiastically hopped on board when my former beta, JDSK, had to bow out (that whole RL thing getting in the way). So, thank you, DeeMichelle for the chat, feedback, and support. All while on vacation - amazing!

Chapter 11 - Motion Sickness

Leah sat clutching the arm rest of her business class seat. She was about to fly across the country to track down someone she had only known for two weeks. It was her first time on an airplane. She did not like it. She was nervous as hell, but needed to stay calm so she wouldn't phase in front of a plane full of strangers. Werewolves on a plane.

She leaned back and thought about what Billy and Sue had told them earlier that day. Just when you thought life as a wolf would get back to normal. She closed her eyes and mentally TIVO'd the story.

_While Sue got on the phone to make last minute reservations for Leah's red eye to Atlanta, Billy launched into an explanation._

"_This is going to be a sensitive topic for you, Sam. I'm sorry we haven't shared this with you before, but it never seemed necessary until now. It's about your father." There was a collective gasp in the room. Emily grabbed Sam's hand tightly as Billy continued._

"_About twenty years ago, I believe, your father had done another disappearing act on your mother. You were about a year or two old. It wasn't the first time he'd split, but this time was longer." Sam closed his eyes, an anguished look on his face. "Joshua was always a restless man. Remember, we had not needed to phase in our day, with no cold ones around. But he knew the legends, and he was especially intrigued by stories of imprinting. He began to realize that, while he loved your mother, he had not imprinted on her. That desire to imprint only fueled his restlessness. _

"_So, this time, he went to Seattle for a long weekend without telling anyone. We found this out later, when he returned. He didn't come back to your mom. He came to Harry and me. He said he had found her. A stranger he met at some music festival, across a crowd. But she was from Atlanta, and she was going back. He wanted to follow her, but he didn't want to devastate your mom. And she was married, too. The next month was unbearable for both your parents, as Joshua became increasingly distant from everyone. Finally, your mom confronted him about it. When she heard the whole story, she kicked him out. He disappeared after that, apparently to Atlanta. We didn't hear from him for months. When he showed back up, he looked awful. He was sick all the time and fell into a depression." Billy paused._

_Sam spoke then. "That's about the time my parents tried to work it out again. I was maybe three. I remember it because I hadn't known him when he came back, but I knew my mom loved him and that she seemed different when he was around." His voice was bitter. "Until then, I'd been her whole world. Then he came back and took her away from me. I think I was a pretty obnoxious brat around that time."_

_Billy continued from there. "Things got slightly better between your parents for a little while. Apparently this woman in Atlanta, Kate, was not going to leave her husband for him, and Joshua was trying to convince himself that he could forget her. He kept up the charade for about a year before taking off again. He went back to Atlanta. He found her in a park with her husband and their baby daughter. He kept his distance, watching the happy little family. But then Kate looked up and he saw that the emotions on her face didn't meet her eyes. He practically stalked her after that, trying to convince her to run away with him. But she wouldn't. She didn't want to take her daughter away from her father. She sent Joshua home, but they continued to see each other off and on for several years after that, until she told him she couldn't do it anymore. She was sick all the time, both of them were, and her husband thought she was crazy. She committed suicide fifteen years ago. Joshua never recovered. And we never saw him again. He had imprinted somehow and been forced to not act upon it, Jacob. It destroyed them both."_

"We're making our final descent into Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta Airport, folks. It's a warm sicty-five degrees this morning with no rain, which our Washington residents will no doubt appreciate." The pilot's announcement pulled Leah back to the present. She was landing in Atlanta, and she had to find Maura. She had to tell her the story and bring her back. Because Billy had a hunch she was Kate's daughter and had been connected to them since before she was born. And because Jacob had imprinted on her, whether he liked it or not, and Leah wasn't going to lose her alpha and best friend again.

*****

Maura sat huddled in the chair by Gran's bed at the hospice. She had been there since late last night, coming straight over after her flight landed. Gran's arthritis had grown steadily worse and she had taken to staying in bed most days. The pneumonia had set in shortly after the flu made its way around the nursing home, and now things didn't look good. Her gran didn't look good, with an IV trailing out of her left arm and oxygen tubes in her nose.

It was shortly after 9 AM when the door opened and her dad walked in. "Maura?!" he said, surprised to find her sitting there.

"Betsy, her nurse at Assisted Living, called me yesterday. I came back." Maura explained stiffly. She had not laid eyes on her father in almost two years. She knew he kept in touch with Gran since she had moved into the nursing home, coming to visit every so often in a feeble attempt to heal the rift in that relationship. And out of guilty obligation, since he had moved into her house once she relocated to the nursing home.

"She's not doing good, Maura," he said, still standing awkwardly by the door. "She's been all alone."

"I know, Dad," Maura said through clenched teeth. Just like her dad to make her feel guilty when he, himself, had left her alone for over two years. Her grandmother stirred awake then and squeezed Maura's hand.

"Don't you two get to fighting," Gran croaked out weakly. "I've missed you, Mo Mo." Gran's eyes inspected her granddaughter. "You look like hell, baby. Washington not treating you right?"

"I-I don't know, Gran. I'm sick, I guess. But I want you to know, I think I'm back for good this time." She sighed.

Gran looked at her skeptically before turning toward her son. "Your daddy's going to sell my house, Mo Mo. I've amended my will, and you are to get half. Right, Brett?" Maura heard her dad 'yes ma'am' grudgingly, but she was stuck on the word 'will.'

"Gran, no." Tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks. Her dad left then, telling them he would be back later. Maura and Gran talked for a while longer. Gran asked if she had found any answers in La Push. Maura had truthfully answered, "Yes and no." She didn't explain about werewolves, or hearing the pack, or Jacob. That had to be some sort of sad fairy tale, and it would have made her sound crazier than usual. "I met some good people there, though. I thought I belonged, but I guess…." She trailed off, unable to continue.

"I want you to go to the house and stay a few days, Maura. But then you go back. I have a feeling about this. Your mom was drawn to that part of the country, too. And she was never able to settle there. I think things would have been different if she had. And check in my top drawer, sweetheart." Gran motioned weakly towards the dresser. Maura crossed the small room and opened the drawer. Inside were various odds and ends, keys, a comb, some earrings. And then Maura saw the small envelope, shoved to the back. She sucked in a breath as she recognized the handwriting on it to be her mother's.

"What is this, Gran?" Maura's hands shook as she opened it.

"It's something I probably should have given you before you left for Scotland. It's a letter your mom left you. She told me to wait until you were grown up, but that I'd know when the time was right." Gran sighed with a rattling in her chest. Maura refolded the letter. She would read it later, when she was alone. "Don't wait around here for me to die, Mo Mo. I'll be much better off knowing you're where you belong." Gran took another ragged breath. Her eyelids fluttered shut. Maura kissed her cheek and squeezed her hand as tight as she dared. Gran's eyes opened again, and she smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Gran." Maura hastily gathered her bags and left, practically choking on the sobs that ripped through her chest.

*****

Leah was exhausted. She had barely slept on the red eye flight to Atlanta, and for hours now she had been desperately trying to think of a way to find Maura in this huge city. There were thousands of Joneses in the phone directory, and she didn't know Maura's grandmother's or dad's first names. She was in the heart of downtown eating at what a friendly passerby had explained was a local favorite. She had gone through a pile of greasy fries and two burgers and was sipping the remains of her milkshake when her cell phone rang.

"Hello?" she asked impatiently.

"It's Seth. Any luck?"

"Nope. This is really crazy. We don't know anything about her life here, so how am I supposed to find her?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm calling. You need to phase, Leah. You might be able to hear her," Seth explained.

Leah laughed. "That's so obvious. I can't believe it never occurred to me. Okay, but I've got to wait until dark, in about four more hours. Don't want to attract unnecessary attention. Ugh. This city reeks of vampire, too."

"Yeah? Well, be careful. Mom says to use the credit card to book a hotel and get some rest." Seth sighed.

"You sound beat, baby brother."

"It's been hell here, too. Jake is like a zombie and Sam's been messed up all night over that story about his dad. And everyone's worried about Maura. If her mom committed suicide, you know, that depression shit runs in families."

"I'll find her, Seth," Leah declared, tired but confident, "I will." They hung up.

*****

Maura sat in her grandmother's house, on the floor of the small kitchen with her back against the dishwasher, just staring. She had been there for hours. Home. But it didn't feel like it at all. Her dad and step-mom had moved in shortly after Gran moved to Assisted Living. Their stuff was everywhere. Maura had finally found the rest of her and Gran's stuff in the basement, but felt too weak to bother going through any of it. No one was there. Still at work. For that, Maura was glad. She felt like she had the flu and could not imagine having the energy to argue with them at this point.

She opened the letter from her mother and began to read it again.

"_Dear Maura, my baby girl:_

_I am so sorry I left you like this. Believe me when I say that I loved you more than anything, and I am truly sorry._

_I hope what I write next simply confuses you and reminds you of the stories about your crazy mother. But given what I think I've seen developing in you, even at five years old, I think you might just understand._

_The buzzing, the noise or whatever it is, is real. The feelings that you sometimes get inside of you to avoid a certain person or to go to a certain place are real. The feeling that you don't belong or are different from other people is real. I wasn't close to my immediate family, and until just recently, I didn't regret it. They never accepted me._

_But, you do have someone (besides your lovely Gran) who could be there for you. She is a distant cousin, Jenny. She'll be ancient by the time you read this, if she's still alive. Go to her, Maura. She will hopefully still be in my old hometown. _

_And, if ever you think you've met someone, well, different, someone you are inexplicably drawn to, follow that pull._

_I love you, Mama"_

Maura wiped away the tears that flowed each time she read the letter. Finally, she looked up and noticed the sun was beginning to set. She got up slowly, tucked the letter in her pocket, and decided to just get some things from downstairs and leave. She did not know where she was going, whether she would actually try to find this cousin Jenny, but she knew she couldn't stay here.

An hour later, as she was stuffing some old clothes, photo albums, and other mementos into a trash bag, Maura heard the crunching of car tires on gravel, announcing that her parents were home. She tore open a few more boxes, looking for Gran's jewelry box. There was a locket in there that she desperately wanted to find before heading out. It had a picture of her mother holding her as an infant. It had been her mom's, and Gran had promised to keep it safe for her.

"What the hell are you doing?!" The shrill voice was Melinda's, her step-mom.

"Getting some of my stuff. Then I'm leaving," Maura shot back.

"I told you, Brett!" Melinda yelled up the stairs. "She's down here takin' stuff." Melinda blocked the stairs, so Maura couldn't exit. Her father appeared at the top a moment later.

"Listen, Maura, you heard what your Gran said. When she dies, I'm selling this place. You'll get your half." Melinda harrumphed loudly. "She will, Mel. It's legal. It's in the will. Anyways, Maura, that's all she left you. Not any of her stuff." Brett said, a little coldly.

"I'm not getting any of Gran's stuff, really. It's my stuff. Except for some photo albums, but those all have my _mother _in them, Dad, so I doubt you really want them." Maura pushed past Melinda and headed up the stairs. "I'm leaving now."

Her dad sighed. "Maura, you can stay the night for God's sake."

"Sure she can, Brett. We're not going to throw you out into the street tonight. Maybe you can call Mac." Melinda pretended to be helpful. They followed Maura as she made her way back to the kitchen.

"Mac?! I don't even know where he is anymore," Maura replied.

"Yeah, well, I figured he broke up with you after all this crazy shit you've pulled. Abandoning everything to go backpacking or whatever. He called here, you know. He told us how crazy you've been." Melinda was not going to let up.

"Shut up!" Maura yelled.

"No. You know, life has settled down here since you've been gone, Maura."

"Mel, that's enough. Stop," Brett finally spoke up.

"Fine, but ask Maura about that jewelry she's hiding. I saw her looking in your mom's jewelry box when I walked in on her."

"Maura--," her dad began.

"What, this?" Maura shoved the locket in her dad's face. "It's _mine_, Dad. It was _my mother's._ It's not worth anything to anyone but me. I don't care what else Gran had." Maura's brow was covered in sweat now. She wanted to throw up. Some homecoming this was.

"Okay, it's okay, Maura. That was Kate's, Mel." He actually glared at Melinda for once. Then he turned back to his daughter. "You don't look so good, Maura. Just stay here tonight. It's already dark. We'll figure things out in the morning."

"N-no, I…oh, God!" Maura clutched her head. The static was back. Perfect fucking timing.

"She's doing that head thing, Brett," Melinda whined, stating the obvious.

'_Maura! Please hear me. It's Leah.' _

"Leah?!" Maura shouted aloud.

"What the hell? Who's she talking to?" Melinda screeched.

'_Oh my god. Leah? Where are you?' _Maura consciously forced herself to close her mouth and think instead.

'_Atlanta. Looking for you. Is your grandmother okay?' _Maura heard Leah loud and clear. She felt a sense of immediate relief and comfort, followed closely by excruciating sadness.

'_No, Gran's not doing well. I saw her. She gave me her blessing to go. I'm at Gran's house right now, but I'm not staying. I need to get out of here.' _

'_Let me come get you. You need to come home.' _Maura sucked in her breath sharply at the reference to home.

"Maura, what the hell is going on? You spaced out or something." She heard her dad's voice. He came to put his hands on her shoulders, to shake her out of it. She flinched and jumped away.

'_Maura? Is someone hurting you?' _Leah asked frantically.

'_Not really. Listen, Leah, I can't come with you. I don't belong. Whatever happened with Jacob, I…I don't belong.'_

'_Yes. You do. And I flew all the way across the country on a goddamned airplane to find you. Now where are you?'_

"Brett, she's starting to scare me." Melinda wasn't very successful at whispering. "Just convince her to stay tonight. We'll put her in Charter tomorrow." At the mention of the psychiatric facility, Maura turned her attention to the conversation going on around her.

"No! I'm twenty years old. You can't force me in there this time," she yelled, while her thoughts were panicked.

'_Maura, please!' Leah begged._

'_Airport. Let's get out of here. I might not go with you, but we can meet there.'_

'_On my way. I'll meet you at Delta.'_

'_Hurry! And Leah, thanks.'_ Maura grabbed her things and turned to face her parents. "Good-bye, Dad. I'm not coming back. I'll let you know when I have a contact number. Please tell Gran I love her when you go see her again."

"How can you leave her at a time like this?" her dad accused harshly.

"Because. I can. You can't make me feel guilty. Gran knows I love her."

"Maura, wait--." Her dad was cut off by Melinda.

"For God's sake, Brett. Just let her go."

Maura watched as her dad hesitated. Though it was just for a split second, it was enough to tell her everything she needed to know. Without another backward glance, she turned on her heels and bolted from the house through the open door.

_*****_

**A/N: **Stay tuned - more questions are answered in the next chapter. And more Jacob!


	12. Chapter 12 Answers

**A/N:** The chapter title says it all. We get more information on Maura's background. Plus, more Jacob! This is definitely my longest chapter yet.

Thank you to the usual suspects for their support and reviews (sles, Aelyaniara, Tears_of_Mercury, WishIWasBella781, Constance Bleu, Britt01, Gryffindor Gurl2, MyBlueSide, Trixie317, Buffyk0604, and DreamOnDreamer) and to some new reviewers: hymnophile, pierceK7, and loquacious lethality. And I am thrilled that new people are adding me to their favorites!

Big, fat thank you to my beta Dee Michelle! She must have her degree in working with technotards because she pulled me through document fail in addition to everything else.

Disclaimer: Smeyer's.

Chapter 13 - Answers

Maura's overstuffed bag made running nearly impossible. Making her way to the main road, she decided to spend her tip money on a cab ride to the airport. She could not believe her luck when she actually flagged one down within ten minutes. She hopped inside, crinkling her nose at the stale smell of smoke. "Airport," she choked out, trying not to breathe through her nose. Just then, her phone vibrated. She pulled it from her pocket and read the text.

"It's Leah. Em gave me your number. Where we going?"

Maura texted back. "Charleston. Be there in 30." Squeezing her eyes closed and blowing out a shaky breath, she realized she was both relieved and anxious at the thought of meeting up with Leah. She sent a prayer to the gods that Leah wouldn't be mean or hard or sarcastic or…Leah.

It was with that thought that Maura hesitantly pushed her way through the crowd at the airport and toward the Delta ticketing counter. Though Maura was swallowed whole by the crush of people, it wasn't at all hard to spot Leah right away. At six-one, she towered over most people, including the men. Her ice cold stare and don't-fuck-with-me attitude subconsciously intimidated passersby into giving her a wide berth.

Maura took a deep breath and approached. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Her emotions were bouncing all over the place, because seeing Leah after all that had just recently happened to her was both the best and worst thing she could imagine. She snapped her mouth shut quickly as she felt her throat close and tears begin to sting her eyes.

And then Leah smiled, grabbed one of Maura's bags, and flung it over her shoulder. "You're late." Maura let out a strangled laugh and relaxed just a little.

The flight to Charleston, the closest city to Maura's mother's hometown, did not leave until early the next morning. They decided to use Maura's credit card to rent a car and drive instead. As they left the outskirts of Atlanta behind, Leah filled Maura in on what Billy had told everyone the day before about the affects of a broken imprint. She also explained imprinting, the "it" Embry had referred to a few times before. It was all so weird and hard to digest. Maura thought about the way Sam and Emily looked at each other. She thought about Leah and Henry, and Jared and Kim. She remembered wanting that, too, someday. Wanting someone to look at her like that and feel that way about her. But Jacob did not seem to want it, had actually run away from it. And, hell, she wondered, did she want it from him? She didn't even know him. It seemed a little too good to be true and like some sort of arranged marriage. Then she thought about what her mother had written in the letter and the odd tilting feeling she felt when she saw Jacob.

"Okay. I've got something for you, now." Maura pulled the crumpled envelope out of her pocket and passed it to Leah. She watched the road in front of her intently as Leah read.

"Wow. Did you just get this?" Leah asked, shaking her head in disbelief. Maura nodded. "So, you really have no idea why this is happening to you."

Maura raised her hand. "Scout's honor."

Leah's phone rang. "Hello," she barked, not bothering to check to see who was calling. Maura smirked at Leah's naturally harsh tone, then watched as Leah visibly relaxed. "Hey, baby. Slight change of plans. I've decided to go with Maura to see some long lost cousin in South Carolina. It might be important. How's Jake?" Maura's heart raced a little at Leah's mention of Jacob's name. "Yeah," Leah continued, "she says she's fine, but she looks kind of sick. She might have a fever. She just started to flush, anyways." Maura rolled her eyes and turned her gaze back to the road.

"So, Jacob is still sick, too?" Maura asked when Leah hung up, trying to inject indifference in her tone. Leah raised an eyebrow at her and nodded. Damn, Leah was totally not buying the nonchalant act. She felt like she need to play it cool with Leah, but then she could not help herself. "What's he like?"

"A-ha!" Leah laughed. "Well, you just have to come back to La Push and find out, now don't you?"

*****

Jacob sat up in bed, breathing heavily and sweating. He realized immediately that he had just been dreaming. He looked at the clock by the bed. It was five in the afternoon. He had slept for a few hours after Seth had called to report that Leah had made contact with Maura and was meeting her at the Atlanta airport. He could not believe the relief he felt knowing she was safe. And now this dream. He could not get her off his mind.

"Damn imprint," he muttered, throwing the sheets back and getting out of bed. He shuffled to the kitchen while images flashed in his mind. In the dream, they were back in the woods. Maura was facing the vampire, but Seth and Leah couldn't get to her. The bloodsucker edged closer and gripped her forearm, crushing the bones, while Jacob tried to achieve impossible speeds to reach her. He ran faster and faster, muscles straining and tearing, but no matter how much ground he covered, Maura remained just out of reach.

"Afternoon, sleepyhead." Billy smiled at him from the living room. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Just fine." Jacob pulled the milk from the refrigerator and drank straight from the jug. He saw his dad frown at him. He hated when Jacob did that.

"Bad dream?" Billy asked.

"Huh?" Jacob looked up, startled, as milk dribbled down his chin. He swiped at it with his arm. "What are you talking about?"

"You were yelling. I went to check on you, but you wouldn't wake up. And you were sweating. You still are," Billy observed. "What was it about?"

"Nothing. Her. The other night in the woods." He sat down next to his dad. He might as well tell him about it, though the smug expression on his dad's face was really starting to irritate him. "I couldn't get to her. The leech crushed her arm and was about to bite her, and I couldn't get there. I'm sure it's all the stress."

"Stress. Sure," Billy agreed. "How did you feel when you woke up?"

Jacob sighed in irritation. "Panicked. Worried. I can't stop thinking about her. And —don't, Dad," Jacob warned as Billy tried to hide his knowing smile. "Just listen. This doesn't mean anything. I only feel the need to protect her because I imprinted on her. We don't even know each other. We might hate each other. She might not want some stranger around, stalking her. It's weird."

"I can understand that. So, give it a chance. Get to know her," Billy advised.

"Yeah, well, she might not come back here. Then what? I'm sick for the rest of my life and worried about some person I can't protect? That sounds like quite a future." Jacob was angry again. The happiness he felt over finally coming home and the satisfaction of joining his friends in destroying that rogue band of vampires was twisted into something else by his conflicting emotions over Maura. He snatched the phone from the table and dialed Embry. "Hey, man. What are you doing tonight? I need to get out for a while. We could head over to Port Angeles."

"Sure, man. I'll call and cancel with Karen. And I'll call Quil. You still have your fake ID?" Embry asked.

"It's around here somewhere. You guys be here about eight. I'll drive." Jacob hung up. Nothing like a night on the town with his boys to get his mind off of…things.

Several hours later, Jacob found himself in some cheesy bar, surrounded by two empty pitchers of beer and his very drunk best friends. He was sufficiently tipsy, as well, and hoping that anytime now he would get his mind off of Maura.

"Dude. She's hot," Quil commented as their waitress left to get them another pitcher of beer.

"You've said that for the last hour. Ask her out already," Embry laughed and shoved Quil off his bar stool toward the bar.

"I guess he's not trying to save himself for Claire, then," Jacob noted.

Embry shook his head. "Nah. He says it's like this. Let's say they are meant for each other, right? That's still a good fifteen years down the road. Can you imagine not having sex, ever, for fifteen years?" Jacob shook his head. Quil would chronologically be in his thirties by then. Embry continued, "And, besides, what if Claire doesn't want that with him? What if she just wants a platonic relationship with the family friend she's known all her life? What if Quil just wants that, too? He says he can't even begin to think about a romantic relationship with her, even in the future. It's just too weird. He's like her godfather or something. In any case, that's why he's not around her family all the time. He watches over her from afar, just in case someday things are different."

Jacob nodded. "I get that." He began absent-mindedly turning his empty beer mug over and over on the table.

"You seem distracted, man. What's up?" Embry asked.

Jacob started to shrug off the question, but then thought twice about it. It had been a long time since he had hung out with his friends, and it felt good to talk. "Okay, change of subject. Has there been any news lately about…the Cullens?" He cringed a little as the words came out.

"That's more Seth's department, but no. I don't think he's heard from them since they left shortly after the abomination known as "the wedding," Embry replied. Jacob snorted at his comment. "You still think about Bella?"

Jacob was silent for several minutes, letting the sound of Bella's name sink into his brain. He thought it would be so painful to come back home. He had dreaded it, and that was why it had taken him so long to finally return. Bella. Hmmm. He laughed to himself in surprise. "You know, I haven't even thought about her until a few minutes ago."

Embry looked at him pointedly and chuckled. "Yeah. I guess you've had other things on your mind."

Jacob's response was cut off by Quil's return to the table.

"Got her number," Quil grinned, looking back at their waitress as he set down a new pitcher. "What about you guys? See anybody you like?" He motioned around the crowded room.

Jacob followed the gesture, noting the cramped tables, the small dance floor, and the overly loud music. He watched a group of college-aged girls dancing and laughing. He could easily be attracted to a few of them. Maybe he would go dance later.

"I've got a girlfriend, dumb ass," Embry reminded Quil.

"Well, good for you, Mr. Faithful. Some of us aren't that lucky."

"Yeah. Karen's pretty cool. It's just…." Embry paused.

"Out with it. What?" Jacob prodded him.

"I just wish I knew if I was ever going to imprint. If I'm not, then I could stop waiting for it. I could figure out how I honestly feel about Karen. Which is shitty of me, but I can't help questioning whether she's the one since I haven't imprinted on her."

"Imprinting is not all that great, it turns out," Quil said. Jacob and Embry looked at him in surprise. He had never really discussed it with them before. "Okay, we've got my situation. Explain that to an outsider and see if I don't go to jail. Then, we've got the way Sam cut Leah's heart out when he imprinted on her cousin and all the bitterness that followed. Then, we've got Jared who never looked twice at Kim until after he phased for the first time. She's sweet and all, but he wouldn't have picked her if he hadn't imprinted on her. And now, Mr. Misery over here who doesn't want to imprint but did."

"On a completely hot chick, too," Embry added.

"I don't even know her," Jacob said in disgust.

"What's to know, dude. A - she's hot. Secondly, she's cool. I work with her, and I can tell you she's pretty awesome," Embry said.

"But I don't know that. How is she awesome?" Jacob watched, with some unexpected jealousy, as Quil and Embry exchanged knowing looks.

"She likes cool music. A lot of retro stuff that she says her mom listened to. She's, I don't know, easy to be around. She can be pretty funny, too," Embry began.

"And she stood up to Leah," Quil laughed, "which makes her either tough or stupid. Emily, the sweetest woman on the planet next to my own mother, loves her."

"And she's hot," Embry grinned and punched Jacob on the arm. "So is that girl over there who can't take her eyes off you, Jake. Gonna do something about that?"

Jacob laughed as he got up from the bar stool and headed toward the girl in question.

"Lucky bastard," Quil muttered and shook his head.

*****

"Welcome to Moncks Corner, Capital of Santee Cooper Country, Population 8,697." Leah read the sign as they drove into the area where Maura's cousin Jenny lived. "You think they have a motel open at this hour?" It was just past two in the morning, and they had been driving all night.

"I have no idea. I guess I should have stopped to plan this out better. We don't even know where in Moncks Corner she lives or if she's even still alive." Maura sighed wearily. "Well, there's a Waffle House that's open. Want to hang out in there until we figure out what to do?" Leah yawned and nodded, so Maura pulled off the state highway and into the parking lot.

"I'll just have a coffee, black, and a waffle please." Maura placed her order after Leah selected practically one of everything from the menu. The waitress looked questioningly at Leah one more time before walking away. "Hungry much, Leah?"

"I'm a growing wolfette. Shut it." Leah looked around the half-full restaurant. "Maybe someone in here knows her. We could ask." She pulled her ringing phone out of her pocket and looked at the screen. "It's Jacob. Here," she said, handing the phone to Maura.

"What? No," Maura protested, blushing furiously.

"Oh, please. You should have seen your eyes light up when I said his name. Now hurry before it goes to voice mail." Leah flipped open the phone and shoved it against Maura's ear.

"Uh, hello?" Maura's stomach tightened with nerves.

"Hey…Maura? It's Jacob."

Tingles, maybe even goose bumps, spread up her arms and down her body. Jesus. "I can barely hear you. Where are you?"

"I think it's called Easy's," he laughed nervously. Why the hell did Maura answer Leah's phone? He motioned to the girl with him to be quiet. Why? Why did he do that? "I was just checking in. You guys okay?"

"Yes. I talked Leah into coming to South Carolina with me." Maura heard giggling in the not-so-distant background. Was Jacob with a girl? Jealousy turned her stomach. Ugh. Why did she care?

"Oh, so I guess you're not coming back here —" Jacob was cut off by the girl grabbing the phone from him. Maura heard her shout, "You going to talk all night? I thought you just had to call your, who was it, your sister?" Then the line went dead.

Maura flipped the phone closed and handed it to Leah. "He was just checking in."

"So why did you hang up on him?" Leah narrowed her eyes angrily.

"I didn't. The girl he was with did." Maura stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom."

"Smooth, Jacob," Leah snarled. As she walked away, Maura heard Leah dial the phone and then hiss, "Dumb ass!"

Jacob sighed wearily at Leah's curse. "Shut it, Leah. I got rid of her." Jacob had practically cussed the girl out, clearly ending their flirtation and possible hook up. He didn't know why he was that mad about it, but he was. "Now, why are you in South Carolina?"

"We're trying to find this cousin of hers who might have some idea why all this is happening to her. Then I'm going to convince her to come back. So play nice, damn it." They hung up a few minutes later. Returning from the bathroom, Maura watched Leah flag down the waitress and heard her ask, "Do you happen to know of an old woman who lives around here named Jenny Black?"

The waitress widened her eyes, clearly taken by surprise. "That's my great aunt. Why? Who are you?"

"She," Leah pointed to Maura, "is a relative."

"I don't think so. I've never laid eyes on you." The waitress shook her head warily.

"My mother, Kate Black, was her cousin."

*****

Later that day, Maura and Leah found themselves in a ramshackle house off a long forgotten county road, sipping sweet tea with a gray haired, wrinkled wisp of a woman. Cousin Jenny. After a hasty introduction, Maura gave a jumbled account of their family connection and her recent revelations. Jenny smiled, revealing several missing teeth, and told them to get comfortable, because what she had to tell them might take some time.

"All us Blacks came from Scotland some time ago or another. Run off our own land there, so the story goes." She smiled devilishly, her gray eyes twinkling. "Least the females were. We would have been part of them witch trials that were so popular, if we'd settled up north. Some even went so far as to abandon baby girls born in our family. Crazy runs in the females of this family, Maura. Really, I'm surprised your mama never came to see me herself. I knew she had it in her, the gift."

"But I don't understand. Why do you call it a gift? And why is it so selective? Could my mother hear people, too?" Maura found herself leaning anxiously toward her elderly cousin.

Jenny reached out to pat her hand. "I don't know. The gift hasn't been necessary in several generations, from what I understand. It only surfaces if there's an imminent danger, a need." Jenny drained the rest of her sweet tea, staring thoughtfully at Maura.

"What imminent danger?" Maura could feel her heartbeat quicken and her breathing became more shallow. Jenny pursed her lips and cocked her head towards Leah suspiciously. "Please, Jenny, I have to know. And Leah is a part of this. I hear her. She's one of the people I can hear."

"I'll put it like this, then. You are like the first line of defense. You can sense the danger and then communicate with the guardians. In Scotland, the guardians were wolves, _werewolves_." She winked at Leah. "The Black family women are watchers or sentinels. We ring the alarm, so to speak, when the blood suckers are near."

Maura gasped and shivered as chills prickled down her spine. She looked at Leah when she heard the soft growl rumble from her chest. "Vampires." Maura's voice was barely a whisper. She took a long, slow breath, hoping to calm down. "But before I met the Quileutes all I heard was static. Why now? Why them?"

Jenny grinned, but shrugged her shoulders. "Destiny?" And then she lost herself in what seemed to be a senile fit of giggles.

*****

The flight back to Seattle included a layover in Utah. Maura and Leah spent the time talking, analyzing every detail of their visit with cousin Jenny and trying to decide how and why fate had brought them all together.

"Jacob hates the whole fate thing. I did, too, for a long time." Leah sighed, stretching and trying to find a more comfortable position on the vinyl seats as they waited to re-board the plane for the final leg of their flight.

"God. I really don't know about this, Leah." Maura rubbed her glassy eyes. She still felt like she had the flu.

"Jesus, Maura, we're halfway there already. We discussed this all the way from Charleston to Atlanta. You are coming back with me. End of story. Jacob will have to get over himself."

Maura sighed. She was not convinced that moving to La Push was the right thing to do. True, she didn't have many choices of places to go, but barging into their lives, into Jacob's life, like this made her feel queasy. She had broken out into a cold sweat right before Leah dragged her to the ticket counter in Atlanta to purchase their tickets back to Seattle. But she'd gotten on the plane with Leah, anyway.

Leah, the bitch from hell, who had unexpectedly grabbed her into an awkward hug when Maura broke down just before going through security at the Atlanta airport. She had not let go until Maura finished crying. "Come _home, _Maura," Leah had said just a few short hours ago, more a command than a request.

And now, when the gate attendant announced last call, Leah grabbed Maura's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before pulling her roughly off the waiting room chair and down the jetway.

Sue and Seth met them at the Seattle airport. Maura was surprised to find herself able to breathe a little easier just at the sight of them. Her chills had finally stopped, too.

"You're staying with us, in Leah's old room," Sue informed her from the driver's seat as they drove away from the airport. Leah's room was vacant since she had moved in with Henry a year ago.

"What if," Maura hesitated. She turned to look at Seth who was in the backseat with her. "What if I can't do this? I can't explain how I feel. I feel like I can't b-breathe when I think about Jacob. I don't want to be responsible for making him unhappy. La Push is his home." Her face flushed crimson. Her physical reaction seemed so out of control.

Leah turned around. "You can do this. Whichever way it works out, we'll help you." It was so strange to suddenly have Leah as an ally.

"I've spoken to Billy, Maura," Sue said. "Jacob is willing to get to know you. To be friends. Imprinting doesn't always have to mean love. Take Quil, for instance. You know, he imprinted on Emily's niece, Claire. And she just turned five." Maura gasped in shock before Sue continued. "He's not in love with her. It's nothing like that. He's tied to her. He will always protect her, but he will only be what she needs him to be at any given moment. Someday it might mean something different, but maybe not. She's got a guardian angel, though, for life."

Maura thought about that. A real life guardian angel to protect her and keep her safe. The little girl inside of her who missed her mother and who ached for Gran reached out, seizing the idea, willing it to be true. Big, fat tears rolled down her cheeks.

Later that night, Sue came to the bedroom door to check on Maura before turning in for the night. "If you need anything, Maura, please come get me or Seth. If you get scared or lonely, we're here."

"I don't know how to say thank you, Sue. I feel like…I don't know." She sighed. Sue smiled reassuringly and closed the door. Maura was about to flip off the light to go to sleep when her cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Welcome home, Maura." It was Leah. Maura was speechless. After a moment of silence, Leah grumbled, "Henry made me call." Maura heard Henry laugh in the background, and she managed to chuckle herself.

"Home." Maura said softly. "Yeah. Thanks, Leah."

*****

**A/N: **Reviews are win!


	13. Chapter 13 Just Friends

**A/N: **Maura is back in La Push, and she and Jacob are both feeling much better!

Thank you for the reviews to: Donna K.C., lucy the diva queen, twilight87, MyBlueSide, Tears_of_Mercury (in all its epic fabulousness), WishIWasBella781, Buffyk0604, fearthegrammarnazi, left on the altar, Gryffindor Gurl2, Aelyaniara, Britt01, DreamOnDreamer, trixie 317, sles, and addisonj. Reviews are so helpful, especially when I realize there is confusion that I need to clear up.

And enormous thanks to deemichelle for her all around awesomeness, electronic shoulder to lean on, discussion of inappropriate crushes, and her mad beta skillz!

Chapter 13 - Just Friends

Bright sunshine streamed through Jacob's window, announcing the start of a rare, Indian-summer September day. He squinted against the assault and tried to turn away. Getting tangled in the sheets, he tumbled out of his too-small twin bed and thudded to the floor. "Damn. Got to get a new bed," he grumbled, rubbing the back of his head where it had smacked into the bed frame.

He let out a long, slow breath and attempted to crawl back into bed to retreat from the nausea and chills he came to expect every morning. Suddenly, he realized they were no longer there. "Hmmm. Interesting." He wandered out to the kitchen to find his dad finishing his morning cup of coffee. And he had company. Sue Clearwater.

"Good morning, Jacob." Sue smiled and got up from the table to give him a hug.

He squeezed her back, then pulled up a chair next to Billy. "I feel better," he announced, looking pointedly at his dad for some answers.

Billy chuckled and looked at Sue.

Jake rolled his eyes. "What?"

"Maura's back. She's staying at our house, actually," Sue replied.

Jacob nodded slowly, not seeing the significance of her comment. "Yeah. I got a text from Leah. So?"

Billy laughed again. "He's smart, my boy. Maura's back; you feel better." Jacob huffed in protest.

"I'll see you later, then, Billy, at the Council fish fry. Jacob, you should come, too." Sue waved good-bye and disappeared through the screen door.

"Dad, I need a new bed. Bigger." He took a sip from the cup of coffee that Billy offered him.

Billy smiled. "I suppose so. You've only had that one since you were twelve."

"And five feet tall. Think we can go look for one in Port Angeles today? I need to look for a job, too."

Billy frowned as he answered, "Sure, we can go shopping. I'm sure you need some new clothes, as well. But, Jacob, you don't have to get a job right away. I can support us. You've got a pretty important job to do already, and the Council knows it's hard for the pack members to find work with your schedule."

"That's very understanding of them, but I'm nineteen. I got my GED before I… left. I've got references from Kamloops. _I_ need to work to support us." Jacob did not miss his dad's self-conscious expression.

It had been hard on Billy to accept government assistance once he became wheelchair bound. He was a proud man and, though he never said it out loud, Jacob knew that Billy felt like he'd let Jake's deceased mother, Sarah, down.

"Anyways," Jacob continued, "I was thinking about discussing some kind of schedule with Sam where the two packs rotate the neighborhood watch. It'll work out fine, Dad. We took care of that random bunch of vamps, and the Cullens have been gone for a few years. La Push is getting kind of boring, again, don't you think?" he joked with a grin.

*****

"This might be the saddest Wal-Mart I have ever seen," Maura commented as she and Leah headed to the bedding section of the store to find Maura a new comforter. She was planning to add a few touches to make Leah's old bedroom feel more like her own space.

Leah shrugged. "We can go to Seattle this weekend, if you want. They actually have a Super Target. I know you're a city girl like that." She elbowed Maura in the ribs, and they both laughed.

A few minutes later, they found the bedding aisle and began looking through the rather small collection. "Good grief, this selection. I guess I'll just go for something plain." Maura pulled a few more bed-in-a-bag ensembles off the bottom shelf and ducked down to scan the back. "Hey, this is cool. Your old bed is a full, right?" Maura started to pull out a set that was a rich, dark chocolate with blue accents. Suddenly, a tingle began to lightly tap dance its way up her arms and down her spine. She froze.

"Let's see it, then," Leah demanded impatiently. Then she turned her attention to some people coming down the aisle. "Oh, hey there, Billy and _Jake._" The emphasis on Jacob's name was not lost on Maura. "Hey, Maura, look who's here."

Maura's heart thundered in her chest and her ears burned with the intensity of the blush that betrayed her nerves. _What the hell is wrong with me? _Trying to play it off, she sprang to her feet and ended up hitting her shin on the metal shelf in front of her. "Ouch!" Tears of pain sprang to her eyes and her blush deepened from embarrassment.

Jacob started forward, pulled by an instinct to comfort Maura, but stopped himself. "You okay?" he asked awkwardly. He watched her skin flush and her brows furrow in pain and what looked like frustration.

"My mother was going to name me Grace, but apparently she chose more wisely." Maura made an attempt at self-deprecating humor.

Billy chuckled and wheeled toward her. "I heard you were back in town, young lady." He smiled warmly. "Welcome back."

"Thank you." Maura forced herself to look at Billy when all she wanted to do was look at Jacob. To memorize every detail of his face, to study the span of his shoulders and visually climb the length of his legs. She found herself flushing again, her own thoughts shocking her. _Friends, idiot, he wants to be friends._

"We're shopping for Maura's new bedroom," Leah offered, successfully filling the growing silence.

Billy answered, "Coincidence. Jake, here, is getting some new things, too. It's about time he got a big boy bed." Leah snorted at the comment while Jacob blushed slightly.

"Thanks, Dad." Jacob smiled, his gaze falling back to Maura. He swore he could see her breath catch, as his did, when their eyes met.

"Hey, Billy, could you help me pick out some towels? They're over in the next section," Leah asked.

Billy could not have grinned more widely. "Excellent idea, Leah. Shall we?" And with that, Maura and Jacob were left alone.

"So…" Jacob began and then was at a loss. He stared at Maura, finally getting a good, long, clear look at her. _Beautiful…. Wait, stop. None of that. Just friends._

Maura tried not to cringe at the awkwardness of the moment._ He's soooo not into me. Just friends, just friends, just friends. I can do that._ "There isn't much to choose from, but if you dig a little you might find something." She held up her bed-in-a-bag. "What color do you want? I could help you look." She smiled somewhat nervously.

Jacob let out a breath. "Okay, right. Green? Brown?" They both knelt down to search the bottom shelf.

"You look like an earth tone type. What size?" Maura pulled out a set with wide sage and khaki stripes_._

"What do you think? King, of course." Jacob grinned.

"Oh, right. King for the big, bad wolf." Maura threw the set at him, knocking him back on his butt. They both laughed.

"Cozy," Leah teased as she and Billy returned with towels.

"Shut it, Leah," Jacob and Maura said at the same time.

Leah raised an eyebrow. "Time to go, Cinderella. I've got to get back. It's date night."

"Okay. It was nice to see you both," Maura said with a smile.

As she and Leah turned to go, she heard Jacob say softly, "Wrong fairy tale."

_*****_

A few days later, Maura was working the lunch shift at Emily's. It felt good to be back and busy.

Betsy, her grandmother's former nurse at the nursing home, had called the day before to give her an update on Gran. She wasn't talking much at all and was rarely awake. It was hard to hear, but Maura kept her Gran's last words to her in the forefront of her mind._ "Don't wait around here for me to die, Mo Mo. I'll be much better off knowing you're where you belong_." So, Maura had called Emily and gone back to work.

"Maura, I need you on table six. Sam and the guys just came in, and I'm going to cover their booths," Emily said.

Maura busied herself taking orders at table six. The place was packed today so she had a zillion things on her mind. Still, she knew the moment Jacob entered the restaurant because she almost dropped a full glass of water into a customer's lap as the tingling started.

"I'm so sorry. I'll get you some extra napkins," she said anxiously. The customer, a friend of Sue's, smiled and waved it off as no big deal. Maura made a hasty getaway to the kitchen.

"Where's the fire?" Embry asked as Maura flew through the kitchen door.

"Huh? Oh. Not one. I'm just really frazzled today. First day back and we're so busy, I guess." She took a deep breath and smiled gratefully as she took the glass of water Embry offered her. She took a sip and ran the cold glass over her forehead. She then tried to peer inconspicuously through the pass-through to the front to see what Jacob was doing. She watched him slide into the booth opposite Sam as they laughed at something one of them had said. And, just at that moment, as if he had an invisible divining rod for her location, Jacob looked up and locked eyes with her. "Shit!" she hissed and nearly dropped her water.

Embry raised his head to look at her from where he was cooking at the grill. He caught Jacob's eye in the background, looked back at Maura, and chuckled.

"What?" Maura fought her natural reaction to blush. Embry just shook his head, and she thought she heard him mutter something about denial and Egypt.

Just then, Emily came back to the kitchen. "There you are, Maura. Listen, Sam and Billy want to have a pack and council gathering tonight. It will be at my house. I told them you get off at four. You can get Seth to take you."

"Wait. Why am I going?"

Embry knocked his fist gently against Maura's head. "Duh. You have major fucking news about being some sort of Scottish vampire alarm bell. And your mom and Sam's dad had a thing about twenty years ago."

"Right. That." Maura smiled uncomfortably at both Embry and Emily before returning to her duties on the restaurant floor. She carefully avoided Jacob's eyes for a while until he stopped her on his way out the door a half hour later.

"Hey, Maura," Jacob said softly and smiled. "How are you? Besides busy, I mean."

"Good. You?" Maura answered, looking up at him and tilting her head to the side_. I could do the friends thing so much easier if he wasn't distracting me with the hot._

"I'm good. I'll see you later, at Sam's, right?" As Maura nodded, Jacob watched some of her hair fall from the loose knot she wore on the top of her head. His hand lifted to brush it back from her eyes, but he managed to stop himself and reach for the door instead.

_*****_

Later that afternoon, Maura found herself sitting in Sam and Emily's small living room. She was surrounded by the members of both packs, as well as three leaders from the Council: Billy, Sue, and an elderly man who was introduced to her as "Old Quil."

"Welcome, everyone. Let's go ahead and get started." Billy's kind eyes settled on Maura. "Why don't you tell us what you learned from your cousin in South Carolina?"

Maura took a deep breath, and with some assistance from Leah, recounted the tale that Jenny had told. She also described the static and the pull she felt each time Jacob's pack phased. As she spoke, she kept her eyes downcast most of the time, afraid that if she caught Jacob's eye she would forget how to speak or what she was talking about. The tingle she felt whenever he was around seemed like it would vibrate the wind out of her right now.

"So that's it in a nutshell. I'm apparently some kind of watcher." She finally looked up, keeping her gaze locked on Billy. He nodded slowly, then looked at Sue and Old Quil. The three elders seemed to have a silent conversation with their eyes.

She waited for one of them to address her, but it was Jacob who spoke first. "So, we know you can hear my pack, but can you hear Sam's?" He watched Maura shake her head no and look away quickly_. Okay, so maybe she's not into me. Ugh. Focus, Jacob. This is about the pack, not you._

"And your mother had a relationship with Joshua Uley?" This question came from Billy.

Sam spoke next, interrupting Old Quil. "Do you think… Is there any way that my father is your father?" He seemed slightly embarrassed.

"Oh. No. There isn't," Maura replied, caught off guard by the question.

"But they had a relationship exactly around the time you were born. How can you be sure?" Sam pressed.

"Well, there was a DNA test." Maura forced herself not to squirm as all eyes were glued to her. "This is sort of embarrassing. My dad and stepmother… I overheard them arguing when I was about twelve. I guess it makes more sense now than it did then. My stepmother kept trying to get my dad to make sure I was really his daughter. I guess he must have known something about my mom and Sam's dad. Then there was a mysterious dad-and-daughter doctor's visit. A few weeks later, I saw my father shove a letter at my stepmother. 'She's all mine,' he'd said. Melinda, my step mom, had just glared at me. So, of course, later that night, I snuck downstairs to read the letter for myself. I remember being crushed to discover that my dad didn't think I was his."

"I guess that answers that question, then," Leah said quietly.

"I'm sorry, Maura. I just had to know," Sam apologized.

Maura smiled sadly. "No worries, Sam."

"Maura," Sue said gently, "do you think this cousin Jenny would be able to give us any more information? Perhaps some insight into why you only hear Jacob's pack? "

Maura and Leah looked at each other, amused. "Doubtful." Maura shook her head.

"Yeah. That's one crazy old lady," Leah added with a laugh.

"She's eccentric, that's for sure. Very old. And possibly completely senile. But, I guess we could give it a try. I can call her."

"Thank you, Maura," Billy said, then turned to address the group. "Jacob, have you and Sam had a chance to talk about your idea?"

They both nodded, but it was Sam who spoke. "We've decided to split night watch duties. We'll rotate between packs. Two members will always be out together, with a third sort of "on call."

Jacob joined in. "It starts tonight. Leah and I will be out, with Seth on call."

"What about me? Where do I fit in?" Maura asked.

Jacob looked at her with surprise. "I don't know yet, Maura. Since you don't shift, it could be dangerous. We'll have to play it by ear."

Billy quickly added, "I think that's wise for now. Okay, it's getting late, folks." With that, everyone prepared to go.

"Come on, Maura. I've got homework to finish before I go 'on call.'" Seth bent his fingers up and down in air quotes. Maura laughed and pulled on her hoodie.

"Hey, Maura, wait up." Jacob reached out to grab her arm.

Maura felt like his fingers burned through her jacket and melted the skin on her arm_. God, these wolves are hot. _

"Let me give you my cell number. I—" Jacob was momentarily flustered by Maura's slightly startled expression and the tingling he felt under his fingertips. He stared at his hand on her arm until he heard Seth's not-so-subtle cough in the background. He dropped his hand. "You know, just in case."

_*****_

Jacob wiped his hands on a shop rag and glanced over at the clock. It was 6:30. Quitting time. He put away the last of his tools and unzipped the navy blue coveralls he wore for work at the import car garage in Forks. He got to spend all day doing one of the things he loved best, fixing cars. He'd had this job for almost two weeks.

"I'm out, man," he called to his boss. He jumped in his Rabbit and headed toward La Push. He flipped on the radio and drummed along on the steering wheel. The sun had long since set and the cold October air poured in through his open window. As usual, he wasn't the slightest bit chilled. He turned the volume down as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. In the distance, barely over the sound of the music, he heard a long howl. Sam's pack, on patrol tonight. Driving with one hand, he flipped open the phone to see that he had received a text message. He smiled. Right on time.

_Pulling a double tonight. Can't text long._

It was Maura. He took a deep breath to calm the butterflies in his stomach. They'd been texting each other since a few days after the meeting at Sam and Emily's. It had been Seth's idea, actually. When Jacob had confessed to him how tense and awkward he felt trying to forge a friendship with Maura under the influence of the imprint and the watchful eye of the entire pack and Council, Seth suggested they screw the history behind the legends and get to know each other like two normal twenty-first century people would. It had been strained at first, but Jacob knew they had to try to at least become friends_._

Gradually, the texts had become less formal and more funny. They'd even attempted a few phone calls. Those had been short but nice, mostly centering on Maura's inability to contact Jenny for other pack-related information. Maura had been having insomnia on the nights that Jacob's pack patrolled, because she could hear their mental chatter. And because the wolves on duty needed to stay focused, it was distracting for them to be having side conversations with Maura's thoughts, as well.

The solution they had settled on came one night when Seth and Jacob were on patrol. Seth had been mentally relaying his most recent date to Jacob in a manner reserved for a guys-only locker room discussion. Maura cut in to tell them it was making her ears bleed to hear her "little brother's" descriptions. Seth was mortified, having temporarily forgotten that Maura was listening in. So, they decided that until they could sense that Maura was asleep, they would focus on PG-rated thoughts or practice their mind blocking skills.

Jacob's phone buzzed again_._

_Hey… where are you?_

He texted back quickly: _On the road. _

Maura's reply:_ Don't go in when you get home, then. Text from car. Don't have time to wait._

A few minutes later, his phone buzzed again.

_Me again. Are you trying to drive slow?_

Jacob laughed as he pulled his car to a stop in front of his house. They texted back and forth for several minutes before Maura had to get back to work. Jacob then walked into the house, whistling.

"Dad!" he protested when he saw Billy's knowing grin.

"What do you do out there in the car every night before you come in?" Billy teased.

"Look, old man." He swatted his dad's arm and grabbed one of his beers out of the refrigerator. At nineteen, almost twenty, he obviously wasn't old enough to drink, but given what he did for a "living," Billy cut him some slack at home as long as it was just one drink after work.

Jacob sat down on the couch to watch the Sonics game with his dad. He briefly thought about how, just a few years ago, his dad's best friend Charlie had watched most of the games with Billy.

Charlie Swan, Forks chief of police and _her_ dad. He was no longer hurt, but he acknowledged to himself that some bitterness remained. She hadn't only broken his heart. Her father was just a shell of a man, not understanding how his daughter could marry right out of high school and then take off, never seeing him again. He was in the dark about the whole vampire/werewolf thing. And, because of that, the lifelong friendship between Billy and Charlie had fallen off. Sue Clearwater still checked in on Charlie from time to time, but that was about all the communication they had anymore.

Jake sighed and let those thoughts drift away. As his dad cursed a referee on TV, his thoughts turned to Maura. He sighed, differently this time, and pictured her in his mind. Average height, slender, shoulder-length black hair, and amazing gray eyes. He smiled thinking about the sense of humor in her texts, and the laugh he'd heard on the phone the other night. His ringing cell phone broke him out of the daydream.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Jake. It's Maura." Her voice sent a tingle down Jacob's spine. "I just wanted to say, in real life instead of on a text, that I'm looking forward to tomorrow." He heard her let out a shaky breath and realized she was nervous.

"Yeah. Me, too." It took everything he had not to act on the sudden urge, the pull, that told him to get in the car and drive to Emily's RIGHT NOW.

No. He'd see her tomorrow. With a little pressure from Leah ("Ask her out already!"), Jacob had finally suggested they meet one night for dinner. Just as friends. They needed to take this slow. He still resented the imprint, but he was beginning to realize he didn't resent meeting Maura at all.

_*****_

**A/N: **Reviews are lovely!


	14. Chapter 14 Small Talk

**A/N: **At long last - sorry, this chapter took longer than expected. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to deemichelle (as always) for helping me get this chapter to feel right. Thanks to those of you who are reviewing - shout outs at the end.

Chapter 14 - Small Talk 

Maura paced around her bedroom at the Clearwater's, checking her watch for what must have been the billionth time. It was six-thirty on Friday night. She was meeting Jacob at Emily's at seven. It would take her exactly five minutes to ride over to the diner, and she couldn't decide if she wanted to be there before him or after him. She chewed nervously at her thumbnail. This was usually the time that Jacob got off work and they began their texting relationship. But tonight, they had agreed they would actually hang out together. In person.

"Mo!" It was Seth, calling her from the living room. He had begun calling her by this nickname shortly after she had returned to La Push and moved in with him and Sue. Just hearing his voice calmed Maura down. Seth had become like the little brother she never had.

"Mo, are you ready?" Seth called again. He was driving her to the diner. She grabbed her purse and her coat and took a deep breath before heading to the living room.

"We'll be early. I don't want to be early." Maura sat down on the couch. Seth joined her. "I'm nervous. There seems to be a lot riding on this. I might like it better just texting. The texting has been good." She winced as she caught Seth rolling his eyes in much the same way he did to Leah. "I'm babbling." She made herself stop talking.

Seth picked up his game controller and then elbowed her playfully in the side. "Relax. There doesn't have to be anything riding on this. Remember, he can just be a friend."

"Well, I know that's how he feels."

Seth shook his head slightly. "You do still hear us when we're phased, right?" Seth asked. "Well, after my most embarrassing moment discussing my date with Amy, I know you do."

"What are you getting at?" Maura asked impatiently.

"He's gotten good at blocking thoughts. I think you have, too. But….Okay, never mind." He turned his attention back to the game he was playing.

"Seth, God!" She punched his arm. "What already?"

The opening of the front door interrupted the conversation. Leah strode in with Henry.

"What's up? Aren't you going to Emily's? We thought you might want a ride," Leah announced.

"Are you two going?" Maura began to panic. Meeting at Emily's suddenly didn't seem like a great idea. "Seth was just going to drop me off."

"Told you. Give her some space, Leah," Henry said.

"I was trying to be helpful," Leah responded. "So, why aren't you gone already?"

"She's nervous," Seth answered for Maura. He threw down the game controller in defeat.

"So what? So is Jacob." Leah smiled like the cat that ate the canary.

"Why? What? No. He's not nervous. I mean…." Maura felt the urge to babble coming on again, so she firmly shut her mouth to stop herself.

"Oh, please. You two may just be text buddies, but I know him. He—" Leah was cut off by Seth, who was trying to give her the hint to shut up by sliding his finger across his throat in a cutting motion.

"It's not a big deal," he said and pulled Maura gently to her feet. "Friends, Maura. It'll be okay." He turned to frown at Leah. "Now, if you'll excuse us, I'm going to drop her at Emily's."

"Yeah. See you there." Leah smirked as she and Henry followed them out and got into Henry's car.

*****

Maura walked up to the diner with her small group following right behind her. Seth decided to come in after he noticed that Embry's car was in the parking lot, indicating he was still working. Maura hesitated a second before she pulled the door open and looked around. There he was, in a booth near the back of the restaurant. She attempted to suck in a gasp only to realize she had been holding her breath. Instead, she choked and coughed loudly. She heard Leah chuckle behind her as Jacob looked up. She blushed furiously and butterflies battled in her stomach, but her feet took over. As she walked toward him, she felt the odd sensation of the room shifting or tilting, just like she had the first time they met.

As she approached the booth, Jacob stood up. "Hey," he greeted her with a smile.

It had been a few weeks since they had seen each other, and Maura found that her memory did not quite do justice to Jacob's smile. It literally lit up the room. Her gaze drifted slowly from his mouth to his eyes. They were so dark, framed by thick black lashes and tiny crinkles at the corners. But now his brows furrowed and his face didn't look as sunny. Maura realized then that she had just been standing there staring at him.

"I'm, uh…hi." She looked at her feet as she slid into the booth. Jacob took his seat opposite her.

"Hungry?" he asked softly.

Maura felt the tingle. _God, girl, get it together. He wants to be friends. _

"Yeah. I guess." She picked up a menu and began to study the daily specials with unprecedented concentration. She hoped it was a good enough excuse for the awkward silence that seemed to be stretching into an eternity.

After a few minutes, she heard her phone chime, signaling that she had a text. She knew it was rude, but she needed the distraction. She fumbled in her purse and pulled her phone out. "I'm just going to check my phone real quick," she mumbled, not even glancing up at him.

_Relax, ok? Will this make you more comfortable?_

Maura flushed. It was from Jacob. She bit her lip to keep from smiling sheepishly_. _She decided to text him back.

_Yep. It does, actually. How messed up is that?_

She heard Jacob laugh as he read her reply. She looked up at him, and then they were laughing together. Her whole body tingled, but she also relaxed.

"Not to freak you out any further, but we have an audience," Jake whispered. Maura looked behind her. Sure enough, most of the restaurant was staring and smiling at them. She groaned.

Emily came over then to take their order. After knowing the rest of the pack, Maura wasn't surprised at the amount of food Jacob requested for himself. She ordered her usual half portion and Diet Coke.

"So, this might be a dumb idea, but since we don't really know each other, I thought we could maybe do a kind of twenty questions type thing," Jacob suggested. Maura smiled and nodded. Jacob was relieved. He was glad she didn't think he was being cheesy. Besides, he intended to start with more benign questions, in an attempt to get to know her better, but he also hoped to eventually question her about her background and her ties to the pack. "Okay, here goes. Favorite color?"

"Red. You?"

"Huh. Me, too. Food?"

"Don't laugh," Maura warned.

"Why would I laugh?" Jacob's brow wrinkled in confusion.

"Potatoes."

His eyes widened. "Potatoes? Really?" He saw Maura frown at his response. "That's an…unusual answer."

"Well, I have lots of love for the potato. It makes all my favorites: French fries, mashed potatoes, potato salad. Then there's twice baked potatoes, potato chips, hash browns…. What?" She stopped talking, and Jacob was cracking up with laughter.

"You sound like that Forrest Gump movie. You know, the shrimp guy. But that's a really good answer, actually. All I've got is steak."

"Of course, steak. What else for the Big Bad Wolf? I bet you like it rare," Maura teased.

"Mostly dead." Jacob grinned.

"Oh, that's from…." Maura snapped her fingers, seeming to try to reference the right movie in her mind.

Jacob lowered his voice to a whisper. "Princess Bride. My sisters watched that movie just about every day for a while. But don't tell anybody I can quote it."

"Oh, you better believe I'm telling. I think I'll start with Leah." They both laughed and looked into each other's eyes.

Jacob didn't realize they were staring at each other until Emily came over with their drinks.

Emily had to clear her throat to get their attention. "Ahem. Uh, your food will be out shortly."

"Thanks, Emily," Jacob said, trying to recover without looking like a fool.

"Okay, it's my turn to ask a question," Maura returned to their little game. Jacob was surprised that she remained unfazed by Emily's interruption. "Favorite drink?"

"Coke. And if we're drinking underage, Captain Morgan and Coke."

"Oh! I love the Captain. Except with Diet Coke. It's the nectar of the gods." Maura smiled. "If we're underage drinking, that is. Of course, I was of age when I was in Scotland, and that was cool. Well, it could've been cool, except I didn't really get to enjoy the pub scene. I was supposed to be there for a semester," Maura paused and took a breath.

Jacob smiled at Maura's hesitation and nodded, prompting her to go on. It was just nice to hear her voice, and to watch her when she wasn't being so nervous.

Maura continued, "Yeah. I think I maybe had a week's worth of pub crawling and went to a few classes before I met this strange old gypsy woman who read my palm and told me to find the Quileutes —" Maura cut herself off.

It took a moment for her words to register in Jacob's mind: he had been paying more attention to the sound of her voice than to what she was saying. They stared at each other again, this time in surprise. This was definitely a mind blowing piece of news, but Jacob decided he would file that question away for later. Even though he intended to discover more about why she was involved with the pack, he found that, at least for tonight, he did not want to think about fate or the greater forces of the universe. He just wanted to enjoy Maura's company.

"Really? We are definitely going to have to hear Billy's theory on that." Jacob laughed softly. "But for now, how about we leave the legends and the paranormal shit alone for tonight and just continue our da -" Jacob stuttered. He was about to say date. But they weren't supposed to be on one. "Dinner," he corrected in synchronization with the arrival of their food.

"Okay, let's," Maura agreed and then gave him a smile that turned the heat up on his already overheated body. "Because I'm really starting to enjoy this da-dinner." She overemphasized her imitation of his stutter, letting him know she knew what he had been about to say.

Jacob's eyes lit up as he blushed slightly, enjoying Maura's teasing. He couldn't help but laugh at himself, and he playfully kicked Maura's foot under the table when she grinned back at him.

As they ate and returned the conversation to more trivial things, Jacob noticed that Maura's initial nerves seemed to be gone. He was more glad than he would have expected to see that the chemistry from their texts was just as strong, if not stronger, in person. He looked around a few times and saw that most of his friends were there (his family, too - when did Billy come in?), still trying to eavesdrop on their table. When he saw Maura glance around again and tense up slightly, he decided to act on his immediate impulse.

"Hey, do you want to get out of here?"

"Yes!" Maura smiled at him, obviously grateful. "Everyone here is sort of becoming my family, but they are making me so self-conscious." She reached for her purse as Jacob put money down on the table.

"Nope. My treat." He was glad that she only mildly protested and enjoyed the flush that colored her cheeks. He grabbed her hand casually and led her to his Rabbit parked outside.

"You restored this, didn't you? I love it!" Maura gushed at his car, clearly as affected by their touch as he, but trying to ignore it.

Jacob paused. _Oh, she knows a bit about cars? Be still my heart. _"You like VW's or are you into cars in general?" he asked as he opened her door for her and held her hand while she slid into the front seat. He reluctantly let go, immediately feeling the loss of her small hand in his. He hurried around to the driver's side and settled in beside her.

Maura picked up her answer as he closed his door, turning to listen to her. "Well, my dad and I used to go to these informal car shows when I was really little. Before my mom died and for a while after, until he remarried. He loves muscle cars, but he also likes VW's. I've always wanted a Scirocco." Maura smiled at him.

"A Scirocco? Really? Not a Beetle or a Karmann Ghia?" Jacob cranked the engine and turned up the heat, figuring Maura might be cold. He eased out of the parking space and onto the road. He turned north, not really sure where they were going.

"My mom had a Scirocco. I remember it being kind of cramped strapped into my car seat in the back, but she took me everywhere in it. How about you? Cars in general or VW's?"

_She wants to keep talking cars. Screw the imprint, I could be attracted to her for a whole host of reasons_. "I hate to admit it, but foreign cars with a penchant for VW's. I like muscle cars, too, though."

"Okay, then, dream car. Anything you want." Maura turned toward him, adjusted the shoulder strap of her seat belt and folded her left leg beneath her on the seat.

"I can't have just one. A Porsche—I'm just saying. Then, let's see, a VW GTI, a cherry red GTO for the muscle car, this restored Rabbit because she was my first," Maura laughed and he grinned at her. "And a VW bus."

"Yeah, the bus. I love it. Great answers." She paused a minute. "Not that I mind, but where are we going?"

"I don't know. Just driving, I guess. It's a clear night tonight. I thought we could head up the coast a bit before turning around."

"Okay, but—" Maura stopped talking abruptly. "Turn around!" she yelled, startling both Jacob and herself.

"What's wrong?" Jacob reached over and put his hand on her arm. Slowing the car and taking his eyes off the road, he noticed Maura looking pale, her body cold and stiff with fear etched in her features. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I have this feeling, like I did in the forest the night those vampires were here. Just something is making me tell you to turn around." Maura's lower lip trembled. "Now, Jacob, please."

"Okay, I will. Maura, it's alright." Jacob eased the car to the shoulder and stopped. "Let me call Seth so he can phase and contact Quil and Paul. They can come up here and check it out." He pulled out his cell phone and began dialing.

Maura placed such a death grip on his arm that her nails broke the skin on his wrist. "Now, Jake," she pleaded in a whisper.

He nodded, and used one hand to turn the steering wheel while he held the phone to his ear with the other. As they headed south, back to La Push, Seth picked up. "It's Jake. Listen, Maura is like, uh, sensing something. You need to phase and contact Quil. We're about ten miles north, almost to Lake Ozette. Get them to patrol up this way, and ask Leah to call Sam." He paused while Seth responded. "I'm going to drop Maura off at your house to stay with Sue. Then I'll phase and meet you. Give me about twenty minutes." He hung up.

*****

A half hour later, Jacob joined up with the other wolves near the southern end of Lake Ozette, about fifteen miles up the coast from La Push. He had just picked up the faint burning-sweet scent of the vampires' trail.

"_Any sign of them_?" Jacob mentally asked Seth.

"_No. Quil and Paul scouted the perimeter between La Push, Forks, and here. The only trail they could find stops about a mile north on the eastern side of the lake. It's less than a half hour old, but there's no sign of any now_." Seth paused as he listened to Sam, who had joined the group patrolling. "_Sam thinks some of us should stay here the rest of the night_."

Jacob nodded his head and twitched his ears. "_Good idea. I'll —" _he stopped and cocked his head to the side.

"_No. Jacob, don't volunteer!_" He heard Maura's plea clearly in his mind. She had obviously been listening in since Jacob had phased. Jacob and Seth chuckled, and they could tell that Maura was embarrassed as she realized she had forgotten to block her thoughts.

"_I'll stay," _Jacob continued. He nodded to Sam as they exchanged an agreement with their eyes, and then added for Maura's benefit, "_Maura, tell Sue that Seth is going to stay with me. And call Emily for Sam. We'll be back in the morning."_

"_Okay. Be careful…both of you, please." _

****

Maura got up from her bed and went to find Sue in the kitchen and tell her the news. Then she called Emily. "Hi, it's Maura. Sam, Seth, and Jacob are going to patrol up near Lake Ozette tonight and will be back in the morning."

Emily let out a long sigh. "What did they find?"

"Well, no sign of the blood suckers except for a trail that stops by the lake. They just want to make sure they're not coming back tonight."

"This is making me crazy, Maura. You know, for two years now, there's been nothing. I think we were all getting a little complacent. It was like our guys had a regular night shift job or something. We haven't worried about anything dangerous in months, and now all of this."

"Maybe nothing will come of it. Maybe they weren't headed this way at all." Maura tried to make her voice sound convincing. Then she groaned. "This is incredibly frightening, Emily. I had no idea I was getting into all this. Heroic wolves and blood thirsty vampires. I mean, someone could get k-killed."

Emily's voice was just an agonized whisper. "Don't, Maura. I can't think about that or I'll go crazy. It's been so tense lately. I just want to forget about all of it."

"Why don't you come over here tonight? You know your Aunt Sue won't mind," Maura offered.

"I don't mind at all," Sue interrupted from behind Maura. "I just got off the phone with Leah. Henry's working late, so I pulled a mom guilt trip. She's going to spend the night, too."

"Did you hear that? Come on, Em. I'll get in touch with Seth and tell him to let Sam know."

"I really didn't want to be alone tonight, thanks."

*****

A short while later, Leah burst through the front door of the Clearwater's, bearing pizza and beer. "Mom! Maura! A little help here. We have a special guest."

Sue and Maura rushed in from the living room to find Leah, trailed by Emily and Kim. "Kim! It's so good to see you. I talked to your mother yesterday. Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Sue put her arm around the six-months-pregnant Kim and gently guided her to the sofa.

"Yes, but when Jared heard that you were having a slumber party over here tonight, he made arrangements for Emily to pick me up on the way over. He knows how much I've missed everyone." Kim smiled happily.

"She's under strict instructions to remain in a reclined position," Emily warned, lifting Kim's legs up onto the sofa and tucking a blanket in around her.

"Mom, where are the sleeping bags? And who wants pizza?" Leah shouted from the hallway. She brought paper plates and napkins into the living room, and handed Emily a beer.

"Get the sleeping bags from the hall closet, while I get Kim a glass of ice water," Sue instructed.

Maura pulled Leah back out into the hallway. "I'll help."

"Be right back, girls," Leah said, bolting out of the room behind Maura. "Rude much? You have company."

"Sorry. I just wanted to talk to you." Maura laughed.

Leah led Maura to the closet at the end of the hall. "Have you been listening in?" Maura nodded. "So, give me deets. Any vamp action?"

"No. And Jacob is blocking me, I think." Maura let out a frustrated sigh.

"It's just as well. Tonight is, apparently, girls night. So you need to block them, too. Now, give me a hand with the sleeping bags." They grabbed four sleeping bags and joined the group back in the living room.

"So, Kim, are you going crazy?" Leah asked. Emily smacked her arm. "What?"

"It's okay, Emily. Yes, Leah, I am going a bit crazy. I don't know how I'll stand being confined to bed for another three months. Though the doctor thinks maybe it won't be that long. This baby is _big._" Kim sighed.

Sue smiled at her. "Leah was early, by about a month. And she was a big, fat baby."

Emily giggled. "It's true, I've seen the pictures." Leah rolled her eyes while everyone laughed.

"But Jared's been amazing. He just dotes on me all the time. He keeps me up-to-date on all the gossip from Emily's, too." Maura watched Kim's face radiate happiness as she talked about Jared.

"Well, if you're relying on gossip from Emily's, I feel bad for you," Emily said.

"Oh, it can be plenty juicy. Like, for instance, I know that Maura and Jake had a date tonight and that he imprinted on her." Kim grinned at Maura, who blushed and squeezed her eyes shut to avoid everyone's stare.

"Oh, the dreaded "I" word. Don't let Jake hear you say that," Leah joked.

"Now, Leah," Sue said.

"Okay. I just have to know," Maura said, opening her eyes again and looking at Kim and Emily. "What, exactly, is imprinting like? How do you feel when it happens?"

"For me, it was like an answer to my prayers. I had a crush on Jared forever, and I am not sure he knew I existed, even in our small high school. And then, one day, he looked at me differently, and it's like he never looked away. He's so unbelievably good to me." Kim glowed. Emily nodded, pretty much glowing herself.

"So, it was the same for you and Sam, Emily? Love at first sight?"

"No. Not exactly." There was a strange silence. "I actually hated Sam at first and wanted him to leave me alone," Emily admitted.

"Really? Why?"

Maura watched Emily glance cautiously at Leah. "Sam was…involved…with Leah at the time."

"No way!" Maura exclaimed, noticing Leah shift uncomfortably.

"And this is where I make a beer run and check in with the pack," Leah announced, leaping gracefully to her feet and grabbing her car keys. "It's okay, Emily, carry on. I'll be back," Leah said as she escaped through the front door.

Sue squeezed Emily's hand. "It all worked out for the best, Emily, so don't worry. You can tell her."

"Well," Emily continued, "Sam and Leah were very, very involved. But once he met me, it was like he couldn't see anybody else. He had no idea why this was happening to him, and he didn't want to hurt Leah, but it was like he just dumped her immediately. Leah and I had always been really close. She was heartbroken, and I was furious. Especially since it put a wedge between me and Leah. But Sam persisted. I finally agreed to go on a picnic with him, to talk, to tell him to get lost. Well, he wasn't fully in control of his phasing then, and he was getting angry and desperate. He phased unexpectedly…well, hence the scars on my face."

Maura sucked in a gasp. "Oh, no! Sam did that to you?" She could only imagine how he must have felt having hurt the one person he loved more than anyone in the world. "Poor Sam."

Sue raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Poor Sam? Most people's reaction is poor Emily."

"Well, yes, of course, poor Emily." Maura grimaced in embarrassment. In retrospect, it was odd that she had identified with Sam first.

"Anyhow," Emily continued, "long story short is that he felt so awful afterwards and was so incredibly loving and attentive to me, that I couldn't resist him. I fell in love."

"And Leah was okay with it, in the end?" Maura asked. Kim snorted, and Sue shook her head.

"No. Leah was very not-okay with it for a long time. She eventually got over it, and then she met and imprinted on Henry," Emily finished just as Leah returned.

"What did I miss?" Leah asked, flopping down on the floor and passing Maura a beer.

"So, basically this imprinting is just like when the guy, or in Leah's case, the girl, sees "the one" and then becomes the knight in shining armor? The imprintee doesn't feel anything…monumental, too?" Maura wondered.

Leah shook her head. "No. They just can't resist the person who obviously loves them above all other things in the universe. The wolf, though, we feel this strange phenomenon. Sort of like gravity is reorienting itself from the center of the earth to the center of your imprint."

Maura thought about that for a minute. Why then had _she_ felt that strange tilting?

Before she could ponder that thought further, Kim commented, "I, for one, am so glad Jacob finally imprinted. I was beginning to think that maybe he _did _imprint on Bella, and he was going to be miserable for the rest of his life. I'm so glad he's finally over her."

"Who's Bella?" Maura asked, feeling an overwhelming sense of jealousy. She noticed everyone else tense up.

"Oops." Kim said.

"That's a question better left for Jacob, I think," Sue said quietly as she got up to put a chick flick in the DVD player, effectively ending the conversation, if not quite distracting everyone from the uncomfortable moment.

As Maura pretended to pay attention to the movie, she began to focus on one thing. She and Jacob may be attracted to each other, they may be having fun flirting and getting to know each other, but what she was beginning to realize was that they needed to skip past the surface and try to figure out their deeper connection. He had imprinted on her, like it or not, and she was inexplicably tied to the pack. Their fates were linked together. She and Jacob desperately needed to have a long talk. She excused herself to go the bathroom. As she closed the door behind her, she purposefully unblocked her mind.

_"Hey, you,"_ Jacob thought softly, apparently able to immediately sense the return of Maura's mental presence.

_"Who's Bella?"_ Maura blurted, forgetting that she meant to ease that particular question in under the radar later.

_"Uh-oh," _Seth chimed in. "_Here's where I cut out and ESP with Sam for a while." _

_"Who told you about Bella? Why were you talking about that?"_ Jacob demanded, sounding irate.

_"It just came up, that's all. Why are you so defensive?"_ Maura's jealousy was on overdrive now. "_Forget it, I shouldn't have asked_."

Maura caught a brief mental picture through Seth's mind of Jacob pacing and circling Sam and Seth, before Seth seemed to remember once again to block them.

She heard Jacob growl in frustration. "_I guess there's an awful lot we don't know about each other. For instance, why didn't you ever mention that you were sent here to specifically look for us? You pretended to have just coincidentally discovered us while on a backpacking tour of the northwest._"

_"I never pretended anything. Nobody asked," _Maura snapped back.

"_Look, I can't do this right now. We can talk tomorrow_." She felt Jacob forcibly block his mind, breaking their line of communication.

Swallowing her jealousy and frustration, Maura returned to the living room and crawled into her sleeping bag. She purposely avoided looking at anyone else, and instead focused on the TV screen hoping to appear to the others that she was engrossed by the movie, but her every thought was solely on Jacob.

****

**A/N: **Reviews are all kinds of tingly and win! Thank you to those of you who are reviewing and giving me a lot to think about: addisonj, Britt01, maimadevil, GryffindorGurl2, DreamOnDreamer, Tears_of_Mercury, DonnaKC, aelyaniara, Buffyk0604, MyBlueSide, WishIWasBella781, sles, victorypickle, SunnyZim, Trixie317, InexplicablyWaiting, and europ92.

And please go check out the HP and Twilight fics by my most excellent beta, deemichelle here on fanfiction. Show her some love and thanks for all the hard work she does for me with this fic!


	15. Chapter 15 Shift

**A/N: **Huge thanks to my beta deemichelle who among lots of other things, actually gmailed with me while at a concert with her daughter. Yeah, we got a little excited about an idea we'd worked on together. She rocks!

I'd like to humbly mention my nomination for the Indie TwiFic awards in the categories of original character (WIP) and original storyline (WIP). How cool is that? I'm just very grateful to all who nominated and to addisonj who got that ball rolling. The voting begins July 8. You can link to the contest and view all the fabulous nominees here: Thank you to Gustariana and HMonster4 for coming up with and hosting this contest.

Shout outs at the end.

Chapter 15 - Shift

Maura was halfway through the breakfast rush when she felt her phone vibrate, signaling she had a text. She had to finish serving several tables before she was able to discretely check her message. It was from Jacob.

_Going in to work. Text me later? _

Maura sighed. She had been both anxiously awaiting and dreading the next time she could talk to Jacob. She didn't like the way things had ended last night. She didn't like feeling jealous of some girl from his past, and she was now worried that he seemed even more suspicious and wary of her connection to him and the tribe. She hurried to send a message back.

_6:30, as usual. Later. _

She slipped her phone back into her pocket and blew out another frustrated sigh. She watched Emily regard her with concern, and gave her best attempt at a reassuring smile.

Several hours later, Maura was relieved to be home and freshly showered. It had been a busy day at work. The weather was definitely cold here in late October, and they were crowded all day as locals from three surrounding towns pushed inside to warm up with some of Emily's famous stew. Adding to her stress was a message she received from Sue when she got home. The elusive Cousin Jenny had finally called. She asked that Maura return her call the next day, leaving the phone number of her niece, the Waffle House waitress, as the contact number.

Maura sank down into her bed, already dressed in her pajamas at 6:30, and began towel drying her hair. It was time to text Jake. "Here goes nothing," she muttered to herself as she flipped open her phone. She wished she could go back and erase their last conversation, so that this one could be more influenced by the time they'd spent together having dinner, instead.

_Hey. On your way home yet? - M _

Five nail-chewing minutes later Jacob answered back.

_I'm here. I'm at home. Boss let me off early. _

Before she could text back, another message came in from Jacob.

_About last night. I have some questions. _

Maura quickly responded: _I know. Me, too._

_Jacob's reply: Ladies first._

Maura pondered exactly what to text back while she grabbed some thick wool socks from her dresser and slipped them on. Finally, she decided the best thing to do would be to just dive right in:_ Who is Bella and why does her name make everyone so tense?_

_Bella is Billy's former best friend's daughter and my former best friend._

Maura studied Jacob's text. She wondered if "best friend" was anything at all like the way Jacob wanted to be "just friends" with her. This thing between them was hardly only friendship, and she wasn't going to play that game much longer. She texted back:_ Former best friend because…?_

_We had a major philosophical disagreement._

Well that was a very loaded yet vague explanation. "Argh!" Maura shouted as she squeezed the hard plastic of her phone in frustration. She heard a knock at her bedroom door.

"Everything okay?" It was Sue.

Maura quickly crossed the room and opened the door. "Sorry for yelling. I'm fine." Sue glanced down at the phone in Maura's hand and raised an eyebrow. "It's Jacob. We sort of got into an argument… I guess… last night, and so now we're 'talking' about it."

"Are you texting?" Maura nodded her reply. Sue rolled her eyes. "I hate to sound ancient, but honestly, you can't get subtle nuances or tone of voice from a text or email, Maura. It's too easy to misinterpret something written."

"You're right. I'm calling him. Thanks, Sue." Maura closed the door, speed dialed Jacob's number and flopped down on her stomach on the bed. She didn't give him a chance to speak when he picked up the call. "It's me. We need to talk, not text."

"I agree." Jacob's voiced seemed far less sunny than usual. "My turn. Exactly what did you know about the Quileute before you got here?"

"I wasn't done yet," Maura protested.

"Patience isn't my strongest quality. We can get back to Bella later," Jacob grumbled.

Maura narrowed her eyes. "Fine. But we will get back to it." Her momentary anger gave way to nerves. She wasn't sure why she was nervous. She had decided earlier that morning that nothing relating to her connection to the tribe should be a secret. "I went to Scotland for a semester. I knew my mom's family was originally from there, way back in the family tree. I felt like I was going crazy, Jacob, with the static and the headaches getting worse and more frequent. I needed a change, and I wanted to feel closer to my mom somehow." She heard Jacob's "mmmhmmm," the only clue that he was actually still there, listening. "I was going to have fun, mostly. I don't know. Maybe I thought I would find myself. And it was an excuse to get away from my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Jacob blurted.

Maura almost laughed. It actually felt good to hear jealousy in Jacob's voice. "Yeah, boyfriend. I couldn't figure out how to break up with him or even if I should break up with him. I thought maybe we needed a little space, to put it mildly." Maura paused, trying to decide how much she should reveal about her ex. She took a deep breath. "Mac was an ass, Jacob. I thought he loved me, and I thought I couldn't do any better."

"Why would you think that?" Jacob demanded.

Maura thought she heard him moving around and wondered what he was doing. She wanted to picture him on the other end, maybe lying on his bed while they talked. She shook her head to bring her concentration back to the conversation.

"Because I was the crazy girl who got strange headaches and heard buzzing in my head. The girl whose mother committed suicide. The girl who got kicked out of her dad's house and had to live with her grandmother. That kind of baggage doesn't help with self confidence. And it doesn't exactly help in the romance department, either. " Maura closed her eyes and slowed her breathing, trying to calm down.

"Says the telepath to the shape-shifter." She heard Jacob chuckle.

"Yeah, we're quite the match made in heaven, aren't we?" Maura laughed and rolled onto her back. "Anyway, I went to that psychic on a dare from a group of girls in my dorm. I wasn't sure I believed in any of that stuff until she started getting all kinds of things right. She told me about the sounds in my head. I never said anything about it to her. She told me my life line and my fate line on my palm were strong, whatever that means. Then she told me she was getting a word repeated over and over in her mind. A word she'd never heard before. She looked me right in the eye, Jacob, and told me I had a journey that was imperative for me to take. I would find answers, and it started with this word, a people called the Quileute."

It was several long seconds before Jacob answered, whispering, "Unbelievable."

"Very. Imagine what Mac and my parents must have thought when I returned from Scotland early, dropped out of college, broke up with Mac, and took off for Washington state," Maura finished. When he didn't reply right away, Maura began to feel uncomfortable and defensive. "It wasn't supposed to be a secret, but Jacob, I had no idea why I had to find the tribe or what I was supposed to do when I did. I couldn't just walk up to the first Quileute I found and blurt all that out."

"And because your mom is… gone, and you don't know her family, you really have no idea why you hear us or what the exact connection is," Jacob mused.

Maura felt tears well-up in her eyes. "I really don't. I've spent my whole life feeling lost. Feeling like if my mother was alive, I'd have the missing piece of the puzzle. But from what I gathered from Gran and Jenny and my mom's letter, my mom didn't know what all of this was either. I'm still just… lost." Maura felt her throat close up as the tears began to spill down her cheeks. She pulled herself up from the bed and padded down the hall to the kitchen for some water. "Are you still there, Jake?" She took a sip of water and sniffled.

"Yeah, I'm here," he said softly.

"I wish you really were here. Right now."

"You do?" Maura could hear the smile in his voice.

"Yes. I do." Maura smiled, too, and wiped the last of her tears away.

"Come here."

"Where? To your house?"

He laughed. "No, come here. To me. To your front door."

Maura gasped as she heard the soft knock on the door_. Oh my God. He's here. Right now._ She practically flew to the door_._ Then she caught a glimpse of herself in the hall mirror and her hand froze on the door knob. Navy blue long john top, green and blue plaid flannel PJ pants, and black wool socks._ Oh. My. God. This is my luck. _

_Screw it. _She flung open the door. "Hi," she said into the phone that was still by her ear. Jacob laughed as he flipped his phone closed and put it in his pocket. Maura turned hers off and tossed it onto the hall table, stepped out onto the porch, then closed the door behind her. She stared up at him. "You're here."

Jacob nodded and smiled his breathtaking smile. Maura felt like she would melt despite the freezing cold temperature. He sat down on the porch and tugged her hand so she would sit down beside him. She felt the heat radiating off his body and decided to take advantage of the fact that they were sitting outside after sunset on a chilly night. She scooted over as far as she could go and then bumped his arm.

Jacob smiled down at her and shifted his arm slightly behind her, resting his weight back on his hand. Maura took the invitation and leaned into him. Tingles shot through her body and, though she was warm from Jacob's heat, she shivered just a little.

"So…," Jacob sounded like he still had some things on his mind. For her part, Maura was having trouble thinking of anything except being so close to him.

"So…?" she prompted.

"Do you still hear the static?" he asked_._

_Mmmmm. He smells like the woods and sunshine and something else. Some sort of cologne. I wonder what he wears. Or maybe it's soap. Yeah, guy soap._

Jacob nudged her with his shoulder. "Maura… are you listening to me?"

_Oops._ She decided to be honest. "Nope." She giggled and inhaled again.

"Are you sniffing me?" Jacob laughed.

Maura blushed but she couldn't really be embarrassed. She realized there was no denying that she was way too attracted to him and way too happy to finally be this close to him.

"Yes. I did. You smell nice. Now, what was your question?"

"I asked if you still heard the static," he repeated.

"No. I haven't since I came back to La Push. I haven't had the headaches either. It's like when I am near your pack, I just instantly feel better. I have a theory about that. I think it was like a radio or TV signal. When I lived in Atlanta, I was out of range, so all I got was static, and it made my head hurt. Then, when I finally got here, it took me a while to tune your frequency in. Now that I can pick up the signal, or hear you guys when you're phased, the static is gone."

Jacob nodded. "That sounds… reasonable, I guess. Okay, one more question then. When you sense the vampires, what is it like, and do you know how far away they are when you can sense them?"

"I've been thinking a lot about this. It's all brand-new to me, so I'm sort of just coming up with answers as I go. I'm hoping that Jenny will be able to explain more tomorrow; she finally called, by the way. I was going to tell you." Maura stopped for a moment to re-focus. "Anyway, I think that when I sense the vampires it is just this awful feeling, like an instinct shouting 'danger, danger' or something. But then, that time in the forest, I could tell how many there were. I don't know how, but I just knew."

She paused again, distracted as Jacob shifted position and put his arm around her, resting his hand on her waist. "As for how far away I can sense them, I don't know the answer to that. Based on what happened last night, we can safely say at least ten miles or so." Maura saw Jacob nod again as he stared off in the distance. She really wanted to end their "talk" and discuss what was going on between them instead, but she also wanted to get the whole Bella thing cleared up. "My turn. Bella. Spill." She felt Jacob tense up.

"Bella. Right." Jacob took a long pause. He removed his arm from around her and clasped his hands in his lap. He didn't look at her. "She was my best friend for a few years. She lived in Forks with her father Charlie, who was my father's best friend. She became involved with this family, the Cullens, better known in our legends as 'the cold ones'." Maura gasped, but Jacob continued, "The Cullens had come back to this area just a few years before Bella moved here. They are the ones our tribe made the treaty with all those years ago."

He went on to explain how the Cullens' return triggered the shape-shifting genes in the young Quileute men, starting with Sam and eventually including him. He described how he grew close to Bella after Edward left her, how he had fallen for her and thought she might feel the same way, and how she not only ultimately chose Edward over him but that she also chose to become one of them.

Maura whistled softly. "That's the major philosophical difference you referred to earlier. I can't believe she chose to become one of them." She noticed Jacob's eyes looked a little sad. "That must be tough to try to get over. It's kind of like she… died."

Jacob nodded slowly, and then looked down at her. "You're wrong, though. Not the part about it being like she died, because I think the person that I knew is gone. But you're wrong about me trying to get over her. It was tough, and it took a while, but I did." He lifted his hand to tuck a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.

Maura caught his hand and pulled his arm back around her. "I'm cold." She leaned into him and instantly felt her body heat up.

Jacob squeezed her gently. "Do you want to go inside?"

"Nope. I'm all good now." She sighed contentedly until Jacob poked her in the ribs. "Hey!"

"You like me," Jacob teased, laughing.

"Yeah, about that. Stop!" Maura slapped at Jacob's hand. "Seriously, about that. I do like you. And I know you like me, too, whether you imprinted or not. I can tell." Maura rolled her eyes at Jacob's raised eyebrow. Then she decided to get one more thing answered tonight. "Kim said she thought you might have imprinted on Bella. Did you?"

Jacob's mood abruptly turned more serious. "No, Maura, I didn't." After a moment, she felt him relax again. "Besides that would be impossible. If I had, I couldn't have imprinted on you." Maura felt his hand slide up her back from her waist to rest on the back of her neck. When he looked down at her again, their faces were only a few inches apart. Maura felt her breath catch.

"Was it like Leah says? Like gravity shifted or something?" Maura was surprised she could get any words out; she was so focused on his lips being so close to hers.

"Something like that, yeah. And also like the world kind of shifted, too." His dark eyes locked on hers, his voice becoming huskier.

"Like it tilted?" Maura whispered. Her heart fluttered when Jacob nodded.

"Why?"

"Because, Jake, I think I might have imprinted on you, too." Maura watched Jacob's eyes widen in surprise. They stared at each other for another moment before she saw his gaze drift down to her lips.

_I think he's going to kiss me. Please kiss me._ Maura bit her bottom lip slightly as Jacob lowered his head down towards hers. She started to close her eyes when she noticed him pull back just a fraction, as though he was uncertain. _Oh, hell no. He is not backing out, is he? Well, I'll just meet him halfway._ Maura closed her eyes and leaned towards him just as Jacob must have decided to go through with it and bent his head down to hers. Their lips met in an almost painful crush. Leaning their foreheads against each other's, they both laughed.

And then Maura felt his lips press softly back on hers, his heat lighting a fire under her skin. She reached her hands up into his hair, pulling it from its tie and grabbing on to the silky strands. A light rain began to fall, but neither of them seemed to notice.

Jacob parted his lips against hers, and Maura couldn't breathe. She felt his hands drift down her back again, stopping just above her waist. She could feel his heart beating almost as hard as hers. She pressed her body into his, suddenly consumed by the need to deepen the kiss, when she heard the door behind them open.

"Jeez. Come up for air," Seth teased. They didn't. Seth tried again. "Mo, seriously. Mom wants me to point out that it is raining and a mere thirty-seven degrees. Come inside."

Maura and Jacob pulled apart, both breathing heavily and a bit glassy-eyed. Maura got to her feet. "Yeah. Okay. Come on, Jake." She reached out her hand as he, too, stood up. They followed Seth inside, and Seth retreated to the living room to his paused video game.

"He calls you 'Mo?' Seth gave you a nickname?" Jacob sounded pouty and possessive. Maura looked up at him and laughed as they headed to the kitchen.

"You want something to eat? Sue made chili." Maura busied herself getting a bowl and utensils. She lifted the lid off the crock pot and filled the bowl for Jacob. She turned to hand it to him and was surprised to find the pout still in place. "Relax, would you? Seth is like my little brother. And I like the nickname. My Gran always called me Mo Mo, so his nickname makes me feel at home." Jacob grumbled some more, and Maura rolled her eyes. She grabbed a spoonful of chili and shoved it in his mouth.

"Mmmm, so good," Jacob mumbled, his mouth full.

Maura laughed and then yawned. She looked at the clock, startled to see it was almost nine. She had to work early the next morning. Still, there was no way she was suggesting Jacob leave so she could go to bed. She would probably have a hard time sleeping anyway, after that kiss.

She figured some caffeine was in order, to keep her awake. She rummaged through the refrigerator and found a Diet Coke for herself and a regular Coke for Jacob. Leaning against the counter, she studied Jacob's perfect face, watching as he finished eating.

He drained the can of Coke in almost one swallow. "Thanks." He put his now-empty bowl in the sink and stood in front of her. "You're tired," he said, reaching around her to rub her neck and shoulders.

Maura almost spit her drink out at the jolt of tingles she felt with that touch. His fingers were so hot and were working magic on her tense muscles. She hoped she wasn't drooling. "I'm not tired," she interrupted herself with a muffled yawn. Jacob smirked. "And that feels amazing." She set her drink down on the counter and closed her eyes while Jacob continued massaging.

Finally, his hands rested on her neck and he sighed. "Listen, I'm off tomorrow, but I know you have to get up early. So, I'm going to go." He chuckled at Maura's protesting whimper. "What time are you calling Jenny tomorrow? I'd like to be here."

Maura reluctantly opened her eyes. "When I get off work, about three-thirty."

"Can I pick you up, then? We can drive here together," he offered.

Maura nodded and then walked Jacob to the door, hoping she would get one more kiss before he left. Jacob opened the door and turned around, looking down at her with that magnificent smile. Her breath caught and her heart thudded so loudly she was sure he could hear it.

"Goodnight, Maura," Jacob said softly.

Maura could resist no longer. She _needed_ another kiss. She stretched up on her tip toes, pulled his head down to hers, and pressed her lips to his. The kiss deepened as she parted her lips and Jacob slid his arms around her. They stood in the doorway, letting the cold and rain invade the foyer, neither seeming to notice.

When they finally pulled apart, Jacob smiled a slow, sexy smile at her. "Sweet dreams." He hopped down off the porch steps and disappeared into the darkness.

Maura closed the door and leaned against it for a minute before reluctantly dragging herself to her bedroom and falling, dazed, into bed.

****

**A/N: **Thank you to those who reviewed ch. 14: Donna K.C., Buffyk0604, Gryffindor Gurl 2, Britt01, Aelyaniara, distinctlyforbidden, addisonj, sles, somedumbgirl, DreamOnDreamer, Sunny Zim, Myblueside, Tears_of_Mercury (check out "Ten Thousand Miles" - it just updated), and Rocksyoursocksoff. You guys seriously push me to try to do better with each chapter, and I heart you for it!

Don't forget about the Indie TwiFic awards. If you're so inclined, voting starts July 8.

Last: Come check out the Love and Gravity thread on the AU forum at Twilighted (dot) net. Lots of fun!


	16. Chapter 16 First Date

**A/N: **At long last, here is the update. So sorry for the delay. I never expected or intended it to take this long, so thank you to those who are hanging in there with me.

Huge thanks to my beta, deemichelle, who is always there to gchat through writer's block or RL stress or anything I need. More thanks and shout outs at the end.

Disclaimer: SMeyer owns.

Sixteen - First Date

"Emily, what time is it?" Maura asked from her spot on the floor in the stockroom. She had been trying to get a head start on inventory before Emily placed her monthly supply order. She was also hoping to distract herself as she waited for her shift to end and Jacob to come pick her up for their phone call with Jenny.

"Five minutes past the last time you asked me," Emily responded from the kitchen, with a hint of irritation in her voice.

"Sorry. I was just —" Maura began.

"Just waiting on Jacob to get here? Yes, I know. It's three-fifteen, why don't you go ahead and wrap it up? You can wait up front." This time Emily grinned at her and then made smooching noises.

Maura jumped up and pushed at Emily playfully as she walked to the front of the diner. "Stupid Seth and his stupid big mouth." She fixed herself a Diet Coke and hopped up onto a stool next to Leah.

"I love stupid Seth's big mouth," Leah said, smirking. "Maura and Jacob, sitting in a tree," she sang. Embry and Emily joined in, "K-i-s-s-i-n-g!"

"What are you, five?" Maura snapped. Then she saw Jake's car pull into the parking lot. "Shut _up_!" Maura felt herself become suddenly consumed with the need to appear preoccupied. She did not want to seem too eager about Jacob's arrival. But then, he walked in the door and his face lit up like the sun when he saw her. As soon as she saw that smile, her anxiety melted away. She grinned and jumped off the bar stool. "Hey!"

As Jacob walked over, Maura wondered briefly just exactly how they would greet each other. She knew everyone was watching. But Jacob must not have cared, because he immediately wrapped her in a big hug.

"Hi," Jake said, releasing her slowly. He seemed to have to force his eyes from hers to say hello to the rest of his friends.

Maura was sure some sort of small talk was being made, but she didn't hear any of it. _He's so warm. Toasty. I could curl up on him and take a nap. _She had to stop herself from purring like a contented cat. She got a little help when she heard Leah making gagging noises. "What?" Maura asked, confused.

"I might throw up watching you two look at each other," Leah replied.

"Oh, please, Leah," Embry shouted from the kitchen. "That's how all of you… imprinted people look at each other. It's gross, sure, but you have no room to talk." They all laughed at Leah's indignant expression.

Jacob gave Maura's arm a squeeze. "We've got to go if you're going to make that phone call on time."

"Right. I'll see you guys," Maura said, giving a wave good-bye.

"Hey, Leah, why don't you come by later so we can give you an update? Emily, tell Sam, too," Jacob suggested. He led Maura outside, his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

When they got back to Sue's house, Maura grabbed drinks for herself and Jacob before making a bee line for the telephone and dialing Jenny's number. "It's ringing for, like, the millionth time. She had better be there." Her leg bounced nervously up and down from her perch on the edge of the couch. She felt Jacob's fingers gently touch her knee.

"Calm down," he whispered. She did, instantly.

"Oh, hello! Jenny, it's me, Maura," she almost yelled into the phone when Jenny finally picked up.

"Hey, there, hon," Jenny drawled, her thick Carolina accent seeming more pronounced to Maura now that she was no longer living in the South. "How you?"

"I'm doing well, Jenny. I'm glad to finally get in touch with you. How are you?" Maura forced herself to make polite small talk instead of launching into a full interrogation.

"I'm just fine, hon. Thanks for calling me on the regular phone. I don't care for them cell phones. The voices going in and out and all that 'can you hear me now' business." Jenny sighed loudly. "In fact, I don't much like telephones at all. That's why I don't have one myself. So, let's cut through it, Maura, and get to the good stuff. What's on your mind?"

"Well, basically, I need to know if you have any other information that you didn't already share with me. For example, do you know how far away I should be able to sense the vampires?"

"Well, now," Jenny began, then paused for a long time.

Maura drummed her fingers on the arm of the couch and started bouncing her leg again, her nervous energy taking over. Jacob gave her a questioning look before touching her once more, clearly trying to calm her growing impatience.

When Jenny continued, Maura motioned for him to lean his head close to the phone so he could hear the conversation.

"If I recall correctly, it seemed like I read that the watchers could protect their own community or town. I guess it might depend on how big the town was, but I think that both here in the U.S. and back in Scotland, the Blacks came from very small towns. I guess they could tell when one was approaching, usually in enough time to warn the wolves," Jenny said.

"Okay. That makes sense. But I was only able to get a warning from about ten miles outside of town. That doesn't seem like enough time to give a warning, given how fast they can move. "

"True. Goodness, Maura, ten miles. Is it awfully dangerous out there?" Jenny's voice shook.

"I don't know. I guess lately, I would have to say yes. But there are two packs out here, so that seems to help." She paused when Jacob nudged her leg with his and gave her a meaningful look. Maura immediately remembered the question he wanted her to ask. "Speaking of, Jenny, do you know why I can only communicate with one pack and not the other?"

"Oh, now that's interesting. Two packs? I don't believe that has ever happened before. Why are there two?"

Maura took a deep breath. She tried to recall the details from one of the conversations she had with Leah or Jacob about it. "I'm not sure, really. From what I understand, the original pack leader is the oldest male of his generation, so he phased first, when the vampire family first moved back to town."

"Vampire _family_?" Jenny exclaimed. "Oh, my. I have never heard of that. Go on, go on."

"The other alpha, the heir of the alpha genes so to speak, phased later, so he didn't take that role on in the beginning. Um," she paused, looking at Jacob for help. "Jenny, would you mind talking to my, uh, friend Jake? He can tell this story better."

"Talk to one of the wolves? Oh, hon, I'd love to! This is the closest I've come to actually experiencing any of this family's legends. Put him on!" Jenny cackled in delight.

Jacob took the phone from Maura while she leaned in to listen, happily snuggling into his warm embrace. "Hi, Jenny. I'm Jacob."

"Oh, now, that is a handsome voice. You must be one of the alphas."

Jacob laughed. "Yes, I'm the other alpha. I wasn't very thrilled with the wolf thing when all this first happened to me, and Sam was already considered leader of the pack. I became his second, and I didn't see the need to challenge for the alpha role at the time," Jacob explained.

"What changed your mind?" Jenny asked. Maura nearly held her breath, hanging on every word. She had never thought to question the existence of two packs before.

"Sam and I eventually had some major disagreements. The most significant was regarding a girl who was involved with the vampire family. She was a good friend of mine. She fell in love with one of the vampires, and he eventually turned her."

Jenny gasped. "No! Why would anyone… Lord have mercy. Go on," she urged. Maura heard a soft creaking sound through the phone. She could just picture Jenny in one of those pine rocking chairs, sipping her sweet tea, as she both delighted and shivered at this latest juicy piece of news.

Jacob went on to explain the Cullens' way of life, the treaty they had entered into with the elder Quileutes decades prior, and how the pack had worked with them before to destroy Victoria and her newborn army. "It was Bella's choice to change, and even though it technically broke the treaty, I did not want to see her destroyed. I split from the pack at that point to take a stand, and the Cullens agreed to leave the area."

"Unbelievable," Jenny breathed. "Vegetarian vampires. Well, don't that beat all?" She began to snort with laughter. Jacob held the phone away from his ear and gave Maura a look that clearly said he understood now why she and Leah called Jenny crazy.

Maura grabbed the phone back. "Jenny," she paused until Jenny's laughter subsided. "Could you send me a copy of everything you have?"

"Shoot, you can have the originals. You are the only watcher left, Maura. They're yours. I was only keeping them safe, and I was beginning to wonder who in the world I was going to pass them down to. I'll get one of my nieces to send the package out to you."

After giving Jenny the address and forcing her to repeat it back, Maura thanked Jenny, then hung up.

Later that evening, after rehashing the details of the phone call with Leah and Sam, and helping Sue fix a large dinner for everyone, Maura finally found herself alone again with Jacob. She looked across the living room, where he was sprawled on the couch, watching ESPN.

_Hmmm. This seems very comfortable. Like 'we've been dating for six months' comfortable. That could be a good thing. Or that could mean I'm about to miss out on all of that butterflies-in-your-stomach, just-falling-in-love stuff. I bet Jake's good at that, too. _

Maura got up from her chair and walked across the room. She nudged Jacob's legs off the couch and sat down. She knew how easy it would be for her to just fall into the comfort zone with him. It was something she had never really had and wanted very badly, but she did not want to rush things, either.

"Jake." She was prepared to wait patiently for him to stop watching sports and concentrate on her, but he surprised her by shifting his focus to her immediately.

"What's up?" He smiled.

Her heart flip-flopped. _Play the game, Maura. Just for a little while. Guys like a bit of a chase. _"It's late. You need to go." Her resolve faltered slightly when his face fell.

"Right." He stood up, and they walked to the door, a look of confusion and disappointment on his face. "So, I'll call you?"

Maura smiled up at him and was glad to see some of the light come back into his eyes. She intended to play a little, not blow him off. "Yes. Tomorrow night, usual time."

"Okay, but you usually text me." He crossed his arms and looked down at her. "Not that I have a problem with changing it."

"Good." Maura stood on her tiptoes and slid her arms up to his shoulders. "Because you should call _me, _and ask me out on a date."

Jacob laughed, uncrossing his arms to pull her gently into him. "Bossy, aren't you?" he asked, and then gave her a long kiss goodnight.

*****

Jacob checked the time on his cell phone. Six-twenty. It was three days after the phone call with Jenny and Maura's bossy little demands that he call and ask her out. He chuckled to himself, remembering the determined look on her face. He had been confused at first, and almost a little hurt. After all, he had experienced a girl giving him the hot-and-cold act once before, and history had shown him that he would fall for it and ultimately get his heart broken.

But he had picked up on Maura's true intentions almost right away. She was an open book, now, when it came to her feelings for him. Imprinting will do that to a person, making it hard to hide how you feel for long. And she was trying to make him work a little for the relationship. Which is what made him laugh. If she wanted romance, well, little did she know that he had been waiting a long time to be able to romance a girl. And she was not just _a _girl, she was _his _girl now.

He flipped open the cell and speed-dialed her number. He grinned when she picked up on the first ring.

"Hello?" Maura said casually, as if she didn't know it was him.

"Hey, Maura. How was your day?" He waited for her to gush over the flowers he sent.

"Busy. Emily needed me to work half of the next shift. You?"

Wait. She didn't mention the flowers. Maybe she didn't get the flowers. They cost him a fortune. She better have gotten those flowers. "So… that's it. Nothing special?" Jake knew he should just come out and ask, but then he thought he heard her laugh softly. Was she still trying to play games?

"Now that you mention it," Maura began, and then laughed again. "Thank you for the flowers, Jake. They are so beautiful! I've never gotten flowers before, and Emily says you should get major points for sending garnet orchids instead of roses or something else predictable."

"I'm glad you like them. You're killing me, Maura," he warned.

"You still haven't asked me out yet," she countered.

"Can you leave this up to me? In the three days since you ordered me to ask you out, I've called on time and sent you flowers. Let me do this my way. You won't be disappointed," he promised.

"Well, okay," she replied reluctantly.

"Look, silly, beautiful girl, I have to cover Seth's patrols right now while he has mid-terms and you are working a lot. I don't want to go out on our first date and have either of us fall asleep in the middle of it. I was actually thinking about Sunday. You're off on Monday, right?" He knew she was. He had called Emily to check her schedule.

"Yes, I'm off. So…."

Jacob blew out a frustrated sigh and heard her giggle. "Maura, will you go out with me on Sunday?"

"Yes. I'm working a mid-shift Sunday, so I get off at four." She sounded excited.

"I thought we could go to dinner in Port Angeles and maybe go listen to some music afterwards. There's this cool bar that stays open late on Sundays."

"Sounds great. Hey, if you go out on patrol later, can I listen in?" she asked. "I mean, will you not block me out right away? I want to know what's going on. I haven't felt anything since the lake. And, well… I don't know. It makes me feel better to hear you."

Jacob instantly felt even more heat rush through his body at the emotion he heard in her voice. "I kind of like knowing you're listening in, too. Maura, you know I'm fine, right? I can handle any vampires that might come our way." He knew he sounded a little cocky, but he was hoping his self-confidence would reassure her.

"I know. I can't help but be worried, though. You don't understand the physical feelings I get when they are near, and it terrifies me for all of you." She paused for a minute, and when she spoke again, her voice shook. "Especially you."

Jacob sighed quietly. He did not know quite how to respond to that. On the one hand, it made him happy that she was developing such deep feelings for him. On the other hand, it was overwhelming. He knew he cared about her so much already, even putting the imprint aside, that a part of him was completely terrified for her safety, too. He was slowly beginning to realize what lengths he would go to in order to protect her, above all others.

"Jake?" Maura sounded insecure, probably because of his prolonged silence.

"I promise, I'll be fine." He worked to keep his tone light. "Listen in later, you'll see just how boring it's been lately. And when Seth starts in on the details of his love life, you'll beg me to shut you back out." They both laughed at that, and Jacob relaxed again, feeling sure that she was less anxious now, too.

*****

Late Sunday afternoon, Maura rushed home from work in Seth's car. She had borrowed it so that he wouldn't have to get up early to drive her in. She was actively saving up for some kind of beater, but until then, she had to bum rides or borrow cars. She was grateful the Clearwaters were so generous.

She burst through the front door, intent on heading straight for the shower, but collided with Billy's wheelchair instead.

"Oh, my gosh. I'm so sorry!"

Billy chuckled and repositioned himself. "It's fine, Maura. I'm all right." His eyes twinkled mischievously. "What's the rush?"

Maura blushed but couldn't stop the goofy grin from spreading across her face. "I have a date. As if you didn't know."

"As if we all didn't know," Sue said, joining them in the foyer from the kitchen. "You know, you two could just stay here and join the rest of us for Sunday dinner. One big happy family."

"Ha ha. I'll just be going to get ready, now. Nice to see you, Billy." Maura raced off to her room.

An hour later, Maura fidgeted nervously in her room. Jacob was supposed to pick her up in ten minutes. She hoped he wasn't late. She was purposely waiting in her bedroom to avoid the comments and knowing looks from the crowd gathered for Sue's family dinner. In addition to the Clearwaters and Billy, the living room was also occupied by Henry, Sam, and Emily. She couldn't escape Leah, however, as she had planted herself on Maura's bed and refused to leave until Jacob showed up.

"You'll like this club, Maura. Hopefully a good band is playing tonight. They usually have cover bands, but they don't really cater to the pop crowd." Leah leaned casually against the headboard. "Good God, you've got like three thousand pillows on this bed. What do you do with them when you sleep?"

"Huh? Oh. Pillows. I push some of them onto the floor." Maura rechecked her small purse again. She had the basics: ID, keys, lipstick, phone, money.

"Well, you'll need to get a bigger bed and lose the pillows once you and Jake—"

"Leah! I'm only now going on my first date with him," Maura protested.

Leah snorted. "Yeah. Okay. Like it isn't a foregone conclusion. You double imprinted, Maura."

"Yeah, well, I intend to do this right and take it slow."

"What the hell for?" Leah pressed. Maura was saved from answering by Seth's entrance, announcing that Jacob had arrived.

"How do I look?" Maura demanded of them both. She tensed as they looked her over. She had chosen a long, fitted sweater and micro mini skirt with footless tights and flats. Somewhere between dressed up and casual.

"You look pretty," Seth said grudgingly. Just like a younger brother.

Leah laughed. "Guys suck at this. Maura, you look hot. And your sweater is Jake's favorite color. Nice. Go get 'im," she teased.

Maura walked out to the living room, where conversation immediately ceased. All eyes were predictably on them. The butterflies in her stomach turned kamikaze as her eyes found Jacob. She was always momentarily surprised by how gorgeous he was, and tonight was no exception. His long hair was tied back at the nape of his neck. The black short sleeved shirt he wore played up his muscles and his smooth, bronze skin, and she couldn't even begin to analyze the fit of his jeans.

"Hey," he said, seeming as stunned by her as she was by him. He only broke eye contact when Billy cleared his throat. "Right, so, Sue, I'll have her back kind of late."

"Don't worry about it, Jake, just go have a good time." Sue smiled at him before she turned back to her dinner guests. "All right, everyone, to the kitchen. Enough gawking at the lovebirds."

Maura didn't breathe properly until she was seated in Jake's car. He plugged in his iPod before pulling out onto the road, heading for the highway to Port Angeles. They talked easily together, now that they were alone, and Maura was almost disappointed when they pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, regretting that she would have to be with him in the company of others.

Jacob hurried to open Maura's door and help her from the car. "No jacket?" he asked. It was probably thirty degrees at best.

Maura flushed. "I was counting on you to keep me warm."

He smiled, looking down at her from under his thick, long lashes. "I can do that." He pulled her to his side and held her close with his arm around her waist. Maura felt like she was on fire, inside and out.

The restaurant was down by the harbor, and the hostess led them to a table by the window, with a view of the water. It was a small, mom-and-pop Italian restaurant with simple tables, chairs, checked table cloths, and candles nestled into old, empty wine bottles, the wax dripping colorfully down the necks.

They made small talk and discussed the menu. Maura was a little surprised when Jake ordered for the both of them, realizing he had been paying close attention to what she'd said. She raised an eyebrow at him questioningly after their waiter left.

"Too old fashioned for you?" Jake asked with an amused grin on his face.

_That smile is going to be my undoing. _

She shook her head and grinned back. "I kind of like all this opening doors for me, ordering for me, sending me flowers. I'm surprised."

"At me or at yourself for liking it?"

Maura thought for a minute. "Both."

After dinner, Jake drove them a short distance to a small club. Maura looked up at the marquis. It read: Seattle Indiens. She had heard from both Embry and Leah that they were considered one of the best Indie rock cover bands in the Seattle area.

Again, Jake came around to open the car door for her. He placed his hand on the small of her back, guiding her to the bouncer at the door, who gave him a smile of recognition.

"What's up, Jake?" the bouncer greeted him. Maura watched as they shook hands. The bouncer then reached beside his bar stool to grab a stamp. He took Maura's arm and pressed the stamp onto the back of her right hand and then placed a wristband around her wrist.

"Hey, Ted. Good to see you." Jake offered his own wrist next. Maura was a bit stunned that they weren't asked for ID before being given the wristbands that indicated they were old enough to drink, since they weren't. But she wasn't complaining. "This is my girl, Maura." She felt Jacob squeeze her waist with his other hand.

She smiled at Ted and shook his hand before Jacob pulled her behind him into the club. It was a dark, smoky hole in the wall, with one long bar along the right side, a few random tables and bar stools, and a small stage in the back. The band had already started. A small crowd pressed in close to the stage. Jake led her to the bar and ordered two drinks.

Maura bobbed her head to the music and surveyed the club with a smile. It reminded her of some of her favorite bars in Athens, Georgia where she had gone to college. Who knew a place like this existed in Port Angeles? She was really glad Jacob brought her here and that it was obviously a place he liked coming to.

Her smile faded a moment later when she noticed quite a number of girls checking Jacob out as he watched the band. She turned her attention back to him and sighed. She couldn't blame those girls, really. He stood out in the crowd with his rugged looks, his towering height, and aura of almost predatory sexuality that she didn't think he himself was fully aware of. Deep down, she knew she had nothing to worry about. They had imprinted. They only had eyes for each other. Still, knives of jealousy jabbed at her heart when a girl down the bar a ways tried to catch his eye.

Feeling possessive, Maura stepped up on the rung of her bar stool and placed her hand on his shoulder to steady herself. Jacob bent his head down toward her as she leaned in to yell into his ear over the music. "The band is really good!" Jake smiled and nodded.

Maura threaded her fingers through his ponytail, gently pulling it loose from the tie. She watched, pleased, as Jacob bit his lip slightly while her fingers ran through his silky hair; he quietly slid his arm around her, pulling her close. She saw the girl down the bar finally look away. A few minutes later, as Maura continued to stare daggers at her, the girl convinced her friends to go stand somewhere else.

_Good move, bitch. But watch your back when you go to the bathroom. I might follow you in. _

Maura shook her head, startled by her reaction. She wasn't usually the overly jealous type and she was almost never vindictive.

A short while and another drink later, Maura pulled Jacob with her closer to the stage. Most of the band had taken a break, but the guitarist and singer remained on stage as they launched into a short Death Cab for Cutie set. It was obviously a crowd favorite, and definitely one of Maura's top ten favorite bands. She let go of Jacob's hand as the crowd pushed forward. Maura and some random girl beside her bonded over their love of the current song by loosely wrapping their arms around each other, swaying to the music and singing along.

Maura closed her eyes as she swayed back and forth. The moment could not have been more perfect. She was listening to one of her favorite songs, she had a good buzz going, and she was with the man who was obviously the love of her life. She let go of the random girl and twirled in front of the stage. Her eyes still closed, she didn't notice how far she had separated herself from Jacob or the look of jealous possessiveness on his face aimed at the guys who, in his opinion, were showing her too much attention.

She stumbled a bit and felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist, keeping her upright. _Oops. Wait, something's not right. _Maura opened her eyes. The arms were strong but not strong enough. They weren't Jacob's. She pushed against them, trying to release herself from the hold and scanned the crowd for Jake. He wasn't hard to find, towering over everyone else with a look of deadly intent in his eyes. "'Kay, thanks," Maura shouted to the unsuspecting guy. "I got it now. Let go." She pushed against his arms again.

"Aw, baby, don't be like that," the guy drawled, bestowing her with what she was sure was his version of a sexy grin. "Let's dance!"

"No, really. Listen, you have about two seconds to let go or—" Maura's warning was cut off as Jacob reached them and wrenched the guy's arms off her waist and behind his back.

"What the fuck?!" The guy turned to confront Jacob. The look on his face when he saw just who he was confronting ran the gambit of human emotion. In the space of a heartbeat, Maura saw shock, indignation, determination, hesitation, and then utter fear flash across his features. She almost laughed. Almost. Jacob was still so far from amused that it just really wasn't funny at all.

"Jake!" Maura broke the murderous tension in his stance by throwing herself into his arms. He caught her easily but remained focused on the guy. Maura pressed her hands into his chest, trying to force him backward, though she knew he would only be moved if he wanted to be. Just then, she got a timely assist from bouncer Ted.

"No harm, no foul, Jake. Back off now." Ted shoved against Jacob's shoulder good naturedly. He then turned toward the guy. "You are messing with his girl, man. Go find your buddies and lay low for a while." He took the guy by the arm, turned him in the opposite direction, and gave him a gentle push. The guy quickly disappeared.

Ted slapped Jacob on the back. "Chill out, man. Seriously, relax." He winked at Maura and headed back to the door.

Maura wrapped her arms around Jacob's waist and leaned her head back to look at him. She felt the angry tension leave his body as he finally looked down at her. She gasped softly at the burning intensity in his eyes. It was chauvinistically possessive, filled with so much emotion it took her breath away.

"Jake, I—" She was cut off as Jake turned around and pulled her quickly through the crowd and out to the parking lot.

He leaned up against his car and pulled her against him. He took a few deep breaths before he spoke. "I don't know what came over me. I wanted to kill that guy. I mean, really kill him." Jacob's expression was troubled.

"I know," Maura agreed.

"It wasn't just jealousy," he continued. "It might have been a little insane."

"I _know._ I do. But, Jacob, you have nothing to be jealous about."

"Yes, I did. He was touching you."

"His mistake." She giggled and Jacob finally cracked a smile as his emotions settled down. Maura stepped up lightly onto Jacob's feet, using the extra few inches of height they provided her to get their faces closer together. She snaked her arms around his neck and pulled his head down. She watched his eyes soften with an expression that melted her. "I'm yours, Jake." She closed her eyes and pressed her lips to his. Their kiss deepened and, unaware of anything but their lips and tongues, Maura did not realize she was actually attempting to climb up his body.

Jacob broke the kiss with a soft chuckle. He lifted her up and spun them around before placing her gently down on the hood of his car. Maura hooked her feet behind his legs and yanked him forward so he was leaning over her before she resumed their kiss.

As the minutes passed, their kisses changed from burning to frantic. Maura's hands fisted his shirt and one leg remained hooked around his waist. She moaned as Jacob's hands lightly glided over her body, resting on her butt, pulling their bodies even closer together. She could feel the heat from his skin through her clothes, and even though they were outside in freezing temperatures, pressed to the hood of his car, Maura's body was on fire and her mind was lost to the moment.

Jacob growled softly when Maura began to trail her hands to the waist band of his jeans. He broke their kiss again, panting hard as he leaned his forehead to hers.

"We're not doing this in the parking lot on the hood of my car." He kissed her closed eyelids, then her nose.

Maura came out of her lust-induced fog and opened her eyes. "We're not doing this yet, period, whether it's the hood of your car or a bed." She sat up and straightened her clothes. She looked at him purposefully and was irritated when he laughed at her.

"I can wait." Jake set her back down on the ground and opened her door for her. She raised her eyebrows at him. "Not long because you're driving me crazy, but we can wait." He kissed her sweetly, helped her inside and then made his way to the driver's side.

Maura scrolled through the play list on his iPod, happy to find some Death Cab songs, which she selected. She leaned back in her seat and sighed happily. Jake shifted gears as they merged onto the highway heading back to La Push. He took his hand from the gear shift and laced his fingers with Maura's, rubbing circles on the inside of her wrist with his thumb.

_Yeah, back to perfect. Favorite song playing and the love of my life by my side. _

*****

Over the next several weeks, Jake found any and every excuse he could to see Maura. He realized the Monday morning after their date, on his way to work, that he would no longer be content with just daily phone calls and texts. So, he drove or picked her up from work when he could, raced back to La Push on his lunch break to bother her at the diner, and became a frequent guest at the Clearwater home just about every night.

They had managed a few more dates, to the movies or to see a band, but they were both so busy that time together, completely alone, was very limited.

Tonight was no exception. Jacob was going to pick Billy up after work and meet Maura and the Clearwaters, along with most of the township, at the A-Ka-Lat center for the high school's weekly drumming session and community pot luck dinner. Seth was being featured during the drum session, so both Maura and Jacob really wanted to go.

The parking lot was crowded when Jacob finally arrived with Billy. He noticed Leah's Suburban parked near the front. Sam's pack was patrolling tonight, specifically Quil and Embry, so that all of Jacob's pack could attend the event.

As he wheeled Billy inside, he spotted Leah near the front of the auditorium. She gave him a nod and then bent her head down to the right to indicate where Maura was. Jake smiled at her and navigated their way through the crowd, greeting people as they went along. He positioned Billy's chair on the aisle next to Sue, and made his way to sit by Maura. She smiled up at him nervously.

"Hey, beautiful." Jake gave her a quick kiss that he noticed she didn't return. "What's wrong?"

Maura motioned for him to lean closer and whispered in his ear. "I haven't been around the whole town since the bon fire when I first came. Even at the diner, we don't have this many townies at one time."

"Don't be nervous. You're with me, so everyone has to love you."

Maura snorted. "Cocky much?"

"Yes. But seriously, everyone loves me. They love Billy and Sue and Emily. And you're with us. You're one of us, in more ways than one. Even if only the council and the wolf packs know the details of how you're connected, you will be respected because we respect you."

"Okay, but…," Maura trailed off. Jacob looked at her with mild exasperation. He wondered why she wouldn't just trust him on this. "It's just, I saw some of the girls gesturing toward me, and I swore they called me a whore."

Jacob's expression instantly turned dark. "What?" he almost shouted.

Leah turned away from Henry. "What's wrong?"

"Jake, no, shhhh! Don't say anything," Maura begged.

He shook his head at her, but he at least lowered his voice. "Maura says some girls were calling her a whore."

"What?" Leah shouted this time, her expression growing protectively dark to match Jacob's. "When? Who? I'll kick their ass."

"Just, when we came in earlier. They were pointing at me and they said I was Jacob's ho." Maura's cheeks reddened. "Is it because I'm an outsider? Because I'm with Jacob and I'm not one of you?"

"You're one of us, stop that." Jacob insisted. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Leah as if to say that she was going to have to take care of it because he couldn't hit a girl.

Suddenly, Leah broke out into a fit of laughter.

"What the hell is so funny?" Jacob thundered.

It took Leah a full minute to settle down enough to explain. She wiped at the tears in her eyes. "No one was calling your girl a whore, Jacob." Both he and Maura started to protest, but Leah waved them off. "I'm sure it sounded like that to you, Mo Mo. But they were calling you Jacob's Hok at'. It's Quileute for white man, or in your case, white girl. Somebody probably just wanted to show off that they knew who you were."

Jacob busted out laughing, too, and watched as Maura hid her face in her hands and groaned in embarrassment. He put his arm around her and rubbed her shoulders to try to comfort her, though he didn't stop laughing. When she finally put her hands back in her lap, she was still a deep shade of red.

"Why would they want to show off that they know who I am?" she asked, anxiously bouncing her knee. Jacob put his other hand on her leg to still her, knowing it always calmed her down.

"Because I'm the shit around here, sweetie. And you're my girl." Jake gave her knee a last squeeze before he stretched his legs out as far as they could go in the cramped row of folding chairs and leaned back, self satisfied.

"I hate to say it, because I am never one to help inflate that boy's ego, but it's true. Jake and Sam are the absolute shit around here." Leah reached over Maura to knock Jacob in the head. "It's disgusting."

Later that night, after the potluck and Seth's stellar performance leading the drumming session, Jake dropped Billy off at home before driving Maura back to the Clearwater's.

He and Maura were in her room, lounging on her bed, talking to Seth. The door was open, at Maura's insistence that they be respectful to Sue. Maura's iPod played quietly in the background while Seth talked enthusiastically about his night. He had been at it for a good half hour, when Jacob decided he was through being patient.

"Okay, man. So, good job and all that, but I'm sure you need to do some homework or something for tomorrow," Jake hinted.

Seth didn't take the hint. "No, I'm good. I got it all done right after school."

Thankfully, Sue came to the rescue, walking in with a photo album in her hand. "Seth, I don't care that you are the star Quileute drummer, that you are sixteen years old and could drop out if you wanted to, or that you can phase into a wolf. It's a school night and it is ten o'clock. Get in the shower and go to your room." She motioned with her arm for him to go, which Seth reluctantly did. "I'm going to bed, too, but I found this album this morning, and I thought you might want to show it to Maura." She handed the book to Jake. "Goodnight." She kissed the top of both Jake's and Maura's heads before she left, closing the door behind her.

Jacob flipped open the album and froze.

"What is it?" Maura peered over his shoulder. "Oh, my God, is that you when you were little?"

"Yeah," he answered in a hoarse whisper. "This is from the last summer my mom was alive. We used to spend our summers camping or just hanging out with the Clearwaters. Always." He flipped a few pages. "There's Rachel and Rebecca in their string bikinis. They were eight or something and one of my older cousins bought them those suits. I thought my dad was going to have a heart attack."

"And that's Leah. God, she was cute. And that baby in Sue's arms is Seth?" Maura joined in.

Jacob leaned back against the headboard, knocking several pillows to the floor as he pulled Maura beside him. "Your pillows are ridiculous." Maura hit him playfully, but turned her attention back to the photo album as Jacob turned another page. His breath caught as he stared down at a faded and yellowed picture of himself with his mother.

They were on First Beach, under a huge sun umbrella. Jacob was holding a seashell up to his mother in one hand, and she was beaming down at him. His hair was a mass of wind blown tangles that stopped just below his chin and there were purple jelly stains around his mouth from the sandwich he gripped in his other hand.

"That's your mom," Maura whispered. She had only ever glimpsed one other photograph of Sarah Black. It was in the living room at Billy's house and was a picture from their wedding day.

Jacob nodded, unable to speak. He didn't often look at old family photos, at least not those from before his mom died.

"She's beautiful. You have her smile." Maura leaned her head on his shoulder. They stayed like that, quietly, for several moments. "You were, what, four when the crash happened?" He squeezed her waist in reply. "Oh, Jake." Maura turned to face him.

He let his eyes meet hers, still too emotional to talk.

He was grateful when Maura did the talking for him. "It still hurts. I know. In some ways it just always will, whether you avoid it or not." She hugged him and gave him a tender kiss. She gently closed the book and set it on her bedside table before snuggling back into his arms. "I know," she repeated.

Several hours later, Jacob and Maura were startled to find themselves awakened by the ringing of his phone.

They had both unknowingly fallen asleep shortly after looking at the photo album. They were still snuggled next to each other, rumpled and groggy as they tried to fully wake up.

"Time is it?" Jacob asked with a yawn as they both sat up.

"One o'clock." Maura grabbed his phone from where it lay hidden under one of her pillows and handed it to him.

Jacob looked at the screen. "It's Billy," he said with alarm. He saw Maura's eyes widen in concern as he answered the phone just before it went to voice mail. "Dad, is everything okay? I fell asleep."

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I need you to come home. Right now." Billy's voice was strained.

"Are you all right? I'll be right there. What's going on?" Jake stood quickly and searched for his shoes. Maura brought them over and he watched her put her own on, mouthing to him that she was going with him.

"I'm fine, Jacob. It's just… this is urgent. It can't wait." Billy said anxiously. "I got a phone call just a few minutes ago—"

Jake cut his father off. "Is it Rachel or Rebecca? Are they okay?" His shoes finally back on, Jacob bolted out of the house with Maura at his heels.

"Jacob, calm down and listen to me. You need to come home because we need to talk." Billy hesitated once more, making Jacob want to yell in frustration. "The phone call was from Carlisle Cullen."

*****

**A/N: **Reviews are lovely and so very welcome. Thank you to those who reviewed last chapter (sles, Britt01, Tears_of_Mercury, Sunny Zim, addisonj, BuffyK0604, Gryffindor Gurl2, Left at the Altar, Donna K.C., Myblueside, DreamOnDreamer, Aelyaniara, trixie317, WishIWasBella781, NocturneRomanza, and Otspock) - you all rock!

Thank you to all those who have put me on story alert or favorites - that always makes me do the fangirl squee. Thank you to Sunny Zim and addisonj for checking in with me during this long wait between chapters and to ToM for the words of support on the Love and Gravity thread on twilighted(dot)net on the AU forum.

Big shout out to the folks at The Lazy Yet Discerning Ficster (TLYDF) - they've got a fanfiction account now and have listed this fic in their favorites. Soooo cool!

Finally, I've used a Quileute term in this chapter. I did some research, and I hope I used it correctly.


	17. Chapter 17 Bound

**A/N: **Aaaand we're back. Thank you for hanging in there between updates. More down below.

Disclaimer: SMeyer owns.

Seventeen - Bound

Carlisle Cullen. Why would Carlisle Cullen be calling Billy in the middle of the night?

'He promised,' Jacob thought angrily. They had _all_ promised to disappear from the Olympic peninsula. Forever.

Jacob floored the Rabbit. As they careened through an intersection, he glanced over and saw Maura gripping her door handle tightly, stomping on an imaginary brake on the passenger side floorboard. He took a deep breath and held it for a minute, calming himself down. He eased his foot off the gas slightly.

"Sorry," he said, reaching over to squeeze her knee.

"No, it's okay. This is urgent," Maura tensely replied. Jacob could tell she meant the words, though her hand still white-knuckled the door handle.

"We're almost there. Hold on." They took a corner on two wheels, blew through a stop sign, and fish-tailed into the Black's driveway. They both jumped out of the car and almost collided in their rush to get to the door. Jacob grabbed Maura's hand, pulling her inside behind him.

They found Billy waiting for them in the kitchen with a fresh pot of coffee.

"Dad, what's going on?" Jacob demanded, but Billy just silently motioned for the two of them to sit down. Jacob raked his hand through his hair in frustration, then roughly sat down in the chair next to his father. Maura found mugs in the cabinet and poured everyone coffee before joining them at the table.

"Carlisle Cullen called," Billy began.

Jacob thought he would explode with impatience. _No shit, Sherlock. Get the fuck on with it, already._

"He said he called to warn us." Billy paused again, and Jacob rushed in at the brief opportunity.

"Warn us? Are they fucking coming back here?" Jacob saw Maura flinch at both the volume and the venom in his voice.

Billy shook his head. "No, son. It's not the Cullens we need to worry about right now." He held a hand up to stop Jacob's next interruption. "This time, we've got bigger fish to fry."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Jacob saw Maura stifle a scream as she jumped about three inches off her chair.

Billy gave a weary half smile. "It's Sam. I called him, too."

Jacob let him in while Maura poured another cup of coffee.

"What did Dr. Cullen say?" Sam asked, joining them at the table.

Billy's face paled as he relayed the message. "You remember hearing about that group of cold ones from Europe that Bella went to save Edward from, the Volturi? It seems that some of the younger members like to go traveling from time to time. They are currently paying a visit to another clan like the Cullens who live in Alaska. Apparently, they are intrigued by the things they've heard about us… and are intending to come back here."

Fury tore through Jacob's body.

He glanced down to Sam's hand, which gripped his coffee mug so forcefully that cracks were forming in the ceramic, radiating around the mug until it almost shattered. He must have realized what he was doing because he relaxed his grip before setting the mug down.

"They have no right to do this. They are not welcome here," he said in a deadly quiet voice.

"How does Dr. Cullen happen to have this information? Are they traveling back here with them?" Jacob's tone was more hostile than Sam's.

Billy shook his head. "Carlisle said he received a call from this clan in Alaska because these Volturi want information about us. He called me right away. Boys, he says these cold ones have powers beyond what any of the Cullens are capable of." Billy's face remained an emotionless mask, but his eyes were worried.

"And just why did the doctor call to warn us?" Jacob fought to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

"He says he considers us friends." Both Sam and Jacob snorted in disgust. "The treaty made with Ephraim Black means something to him, and he feels responsible that the Volturi know anything about us in the first place…. And Bella is worried. For her father being so close by in Forks, and for us. For you."

Jacob bit his tongue to keep from saying anything else. He avoided Maura's eyes for a brief moment, trying to calm down. He didn't feel anything for Bella anymore, except the bitterness and anger he now directed at all the Cullens for the danger they seemed to continue to put his tribe in, but he did not want Maura to see all the raging emotion in his eyes and mistake it for something else.

"Jake," Maura whispered, "this is serious isn't it? Billy seems worried. Billy, you are never worried."

Jake grabbed her hand and held it tightly in his. He looked at Sam for a second before turning to meet Maura's eyes. "It's nothing we can't handle, I promise." His thumb rubbed over hers gently. She looked unconvinced but nodded anyway.

"When?" Sam asked Billy.

"Carlisle says that Alice is watching the Volturi. They will call us when they head back this way. But… I don't know how reliable Alice's visions are."

"When they head back here?"

"Th-those vampires that I felt a few weeks ago, by the lake. That was—" Maura cut herself off. Jacob felt her hand begin to shake.

"They're not anywhere near here right now. I checked in with Embry on the way over. No fresh trails," Sam assured them.

Jacob caught Maura's eye and gave her a questioning look. She shook her head before speaking up. "I'm not getting anything, either. I think we're okay. Right now, anyway."

Billy nodded, some of the worry leaving his eyes.

Sam stood up to go. "I need to get back home to Emily." He yawned, but then looked pointedly at Jacob. "We need to talk. Maybe double up patrols for a while."

"Yeah. I was thinking the same." Jacob stood, too, and walked Sam out.

A few minutes later, he returned to the kitchen. He grabbed Maura's hand and pulled her up out of her chair. Her eyes were sleepy but still tense with worry. He tugged her arm when she started for the front door.

"Come on. It's almost three in the morning. You need some sleep." Jacob led her away from the door and down the hall.

"Jake!" Maura hissed in a loud whisper. "I can't crash here."

Jacob smiled and pulled her into a hug outside his bedroom door. "Why not? Billy won't mind. It's late; you're tired. We've had a long night, and we're just going to sleep." He led her into his room and rummaged for a t-shirt for her to wear.

"But what will Sue think when she wakes up and I'm not there?"

Jacob just smiled and shook his head. "Sue will think that you went to work. You're always gone before they wake up when you work the early shift."

"Okay," Maura said, grabbing the shirt and heading back down the hall to the bathroom, stated over her shoulder, "But the door stays open."

Jacob chuckled. "Whatever." He waited for Maura to return from the bathroom before going to brush his teeth. When he walked back in the room in his boxers and shirt, Maura was sitting on the edge of the bed, his t-shirt swallowing her smaller frame. "Come on, get in." Jacob pulled the covers back and they both got in. He turned off the lamp beside his bed.

They were quiet for a minute. Jacob rolled to his side and watched Maura's dark shape lying stiffly on her back. "I don't want you to worry about all of this. I promise; we can handle them. And I promise to keep you safe."

"I believe you." She reached for his hand and squeezed it. "I can't promise I won't worry, though. And I don't want you to block me out anymore. I just have to know that you're okay."

Jacob leaned over and kissed her. "Deal." He kissed her again, letting go of her hand to brush her hair from her forehead. When she sighed, parting her lips, he kissed her more deeply, trailing his hand down to her breast. "Come here," he said, rolling to his back and pulling her on top of him. He felt her whole body tense. "What are you so uptight about? We already slept together earlier tonight."

"Ha ha. We fell asleep accidentally earlier tonight. We did not grope each other in bed with your father down the hall." Maura tried to wriggle away.

Jacob laughed, locking both arms around her to keep her in place on top of him. She began to protest loudly.

"Shhh! Billy might be trying to sleep." He pulled her head to his chest, smiling when she didn't resist this time. Instead, he felt her hand slide over his body and rest just below his heart.

"Goodnight, Jake," Maura said. He kissed her hair, closed his eyes, and hoped she would sleep. He knew he would be up most of the night, analyzing this new situation with the Volturi.

*****

Maura came awake slowly, as soft gray light seeped into the room. She kept her eyes closed and yawned. She was so comfortable and warm, which seemed strange since she could only feel a light sheet draped across her back. As she shifted, the realization of where she was, and who she was laying on, set in. Her eyes flew open and she pushed herself up on her elbows, digging one into Jacob's side.

"Ouch," he grumbled, still asleep. His hand reached up to pull her head back down on his chest.

Maura pushed herself back up and looked at the clock on his dresser. "Jake, shit, it's six o'clock!" She nudged him gently. He didn't stir. "Jake, wake up!" This time she shook his shoulders. "We're going to be late. Get up!"

He groaned and tried to roll over, almost knocking Maura off the bed. She dug her nails into his arm, trying to right herself.

"Get. Up." Maura managed to untangle herself from Jacob, instantly feeling cold and missing the comfort of his body. She hastily found her clothes from last night, or rather earlier that morning, and redressed. "Jake!" Walking back over to the bed, she looked down at his peaceful face, his long hair spilling over his forehead and against the pillows. "God, you're beautiful," she whispered, beginning to seriously consider skipping work and crawling back into bed to wake him up for a completely different reason. Instead, she summoned all her willpower and punched his shoulder.

Nothing but a grunt and a furrowed brow.

"Ja-ake," she whined, leaning down over him. "Please wake up." Her face was inches from his, her hair gently tickling his face. He scrunched his nose as her strands brushed over his skin. She laughed at his pouty face. "Jakey, wake up," she sing-songed, purposely swinging her head side to side so her hair would continue to bother him.

She felt his hands grab her upper arms. His eyes opened, and he scowled. "Don't call me Jakey."

Maura giggled. "Morning, sunshine. Listen, it's six. We're going to be late. I need you to drive me home so I can shower and go to work." He groaned in protest again, but swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up.

"I'll be ready in five minutes," he said, grabbing some clean clothes and heading down the hall to the bathroom. He reappeared several minutes later, fully dressed with wet hair, and a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. "Let's go." He walked to the kitchen, spitting and rinsing in the sink before laying his toothbrush on the counter. Maura crinkled her nose in disgust. "What?"

Billy entered the kitchen at that moment. "At least he's house broken," he teased. "I called Emily to tell her you were going to be a few minutes late. I hope you don't mind."

He handed them each a travel mug with fresh coffee.

"Thank you." Maura leaned down and gave him a quick hug before following Jacob out to the car.

Thirty minutes later, after she showered and changed at Sue's, they pulled up in front of the diner.

"Ugh. It's packed already." Maura popped the door open, then turned back to Jake. "Come on, you need to eat something and you still have an hour before you have to be at work."

Jake turned his car into a parking space, and they hurried inside.

"Sorry, Emily!" Maura called, rushing to the back to put up her coat and grab an apron.

"I need you on counter," Emily replied from the kitchen. She was cooking. Maura walked quickly back to the counter, looking around for Jacob, whom she spotted at a table with Sam, Leah, Embry, Quil, and Paul.

Maura busied herself with customers until she could take a quick break. Then she slipped back to the kitchen to talk to Emily.

"Hey. We're caught up now. Sorry again for being late."

Emily smiled tightly. "It's fine. Sam told me you were over at Jake's last night, and Billy called this morning. I understand."

Maura looked at the tense exhaustion on Emily's face. "You're worried." Emily nodded and tried another smile as the floor waitress approached the pass-through with another order.

"We don't have time for that, though. We'll talk later. Here's Jake's breakfast."

Maura carried the plate out to the table, interrupting what appeared to be an intense conversation. She watched Jacob's expression change instantly when he looked at her. She caught her breath as butterflies flipped in her stomach, wondering how she could have two completely different emotions going on at the same time. Part of her was overwhelmed with worry and fear of the Volturi, while the rest of her had never been happier than she was whenever she was around Jake.

"Good morning, everyone," Maura said to the rest of the table as Jacob pulled her down to sit on his lap. She picked up on the serious mood and bit her lip. "I don't want to interrupt. I've got to get back to work anyway." She tried to rise up from Jacob's lap, but he held her there with one arm around her waist.

"You need to eat," he said, holding up a fork full of French toast for her. She decided not to resist. Emily's French toast was unbeatable. "We were just going over what Billy told us last night."

"We are going to have a meeting with the Council tonight," Sam said. "You need to be there."

Maura nodded and took a sip of Jake's water. "Okay." She set the glass down. "I'll be there. Right now, I've got to get back to work." She stood, grabbing Jake's hand from her waist and twining her fingers through his. "See you at lunch?" Jacob mumbled his agreement around a mouthful of food. He swallowed before giving her a quick kiss.

Later that night, the Council and the wolf packs met at Billy and Jake's house. Sue had made several pound cakes, which the guys were quickly devouring. Maura wondered how they could eat so much at a time like this, but worry didn't seem to affect their appetites.

"We are doubling up patrols starting tonight," Sam began while the guys continued eating. "Sue called the school to get Seth excused temporarily from attending his morning classes. One of Jacob's pack will be on patrol with two of mine at all times. Jared is going to come back to help out, but will stick closer to home. Kim is going to stay at her mother's house whenever we have to use him."

Jacob continued, "We are all on call every night regardless. I have switched my hours to part-time afternoons for right now."

"Old Quil, Sue, and I are going to be on call also. The packs will check in with one of us throughout the night so we can alert the others if necessary," Billy added. He turned to Maura. "Jake told us he's not going to be blocking you out, so I guess you'll be up all night for the time being, too."

Sam smiled at her. "I got Emily to change your schedule. You'll be afternoons and evenings with Embry."

Maura nodded that she understood. She tried to return his smile, but it wasn't happening. Her stomach was clenching in knots. She wasn't worried about the lack of sleep. She was terrified by what they were facing, the seriousness of it settling in.

She half listened as Jacob and Sam explained that when the big day arrived, both packs would work together to confront the Volturi, minus Seth, Jared, and Quil. The three of them would stay behind to guard the town and, especially, the imprints.

Maura snapped her attention back to the conversation. Those three were staying behind? If people were going to be staying behind, why not Jake?

As though he read her mind, Jacob began explaining their plan. "Just in case things get more intense than we planned, Jared needs to be home to protect Kim and their child. Quil is going to hang out with Claire's family. Emily said she'll stay over there with them, so that covers her, too. Henry and my dad promised to keep Sue and Maura company with Seth there, acting as a communicator between the packs so we can all stay on the same wave length."

"What do you mean if things get more intense?" Maura blurted out.

"It's precautionary," Sam answered. "A way to insure the survival of the tribe. The imprints will be the ones that help us carry on the line. And Seth is the youngest, plus he could sort of inherit Jake's pack, if necessary, and maintain the bridge between the two."

Maura looked around as everyone nodded in agreement. She bit her cheek to keep herself from basically throwing a tantrum in front of everyone. She didn't want anyone to get hurt… or killed… but Jake could just as easily stay behind to protect them and insure the survival of his pack himself. And why did they all look like they were excited about the prospect of a good fight, like the Outsiders on their way to the rumble?

Maura fought to keep her panic down in front of the group. She didn't know how Emily or Kim could stand it. The thought of Jacob risking his life to combat such a dangerous, immortal creature scared her to death. She bit her nails and tried to breathe deeply as the group continued to discuss strategy.

Shortly afterward, the meeting broke up. After kissing Jacob goodnight, Maura helped Sue clean up before going to her room.

She quickly changed into warm pajamas and crawled into bed, turning off the lights to prevent either Sue or Seth from coming in to talk. She needed to be alone.

As she lay in the darkness, her eyes closed, frightening images played like a horror movie in her mind. She saw the wolves clashing with the vampires. Most of both packs were bloody and writhing in pain from the venom seeping into their bloodstream through vicious bites wounds. After all, Billy had said that the ones that were coming were unbelievably powerful. She saw Jacob continuing to fight, not backing down even when the odds were no longer in the wolves' favor. She imagined him finally suffering a mortal blow and falling to the ground.

She jerked upright in bed, her chest heaving as she struggled for breath. The thought of Jacob dying was sending her into a full-blown panic attack.

He can't die.

He. Can. Not. Die.

Tears began streaming down her face. She clutched at her chest. It felt like her lungs would collapse under the weight of the image in her mind.

_I'm going to be sick. _

Maura shot out of bed and raced down the hallway to the bathroom. She slammed the door closed and dove toward the toilet, making it just in time before the churning in her stomach caused her to throw up.

When it was over, she took her time cleaning up.

"You okay, Mo Mo?" Seth asked from outside the door.

She wiped her hands and face on a towel and opened the door. By the look on Seth's face, she guessed she looked horrible.

"I'm… okay?" It came out as a weak question.

"Want to talk about it?" Seth walked with her back to her room. They sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'm scared, Seth," Maura whispered.

"I know it's scary, but there's really nothing to worry about. We have two packs for protection. They'll be outnumbered if there are only a few of them like Dr. Cullen believes."

"They're vampires. From everything you all have described and the one time I saw one, they are pretty indestructible."

Seth snorted. "Please. We were born for this. Our very purpose in life is to destroy them. We just need to stay on watch so we don't get surprised. Personally, I can't wait." He dramatically cracked is knuckles.

"But you could get hurt. Any of you. Jared did, the last time."

"But he's okay." He nudged her shoulder. "We're going to be fine. I just wish I didn't have to stay behind."

Maura mustered the effort to put on a brave face as she nodded. "Thanks, Seth. Listen, I'm really tired. I'm going to try to get some sleep before Leah goes out on patrol." She gave Seth a side-hug before he left the room and closed her door. As soon as he did, the panic returned.

Despite the fact that she knew Jake was off tonight and needed to rest, she grabbed her cell and dialed. He finally answered after the fifth ring.

"Hey, beautiful," he said sleepily. "What's up?"

Maura breathed deeply in and out before answering. She hoped her voice sounded calm. "Just thinking about you." She looked down to see her hand shaking as she held the phone. God, she was really freaking out. And the realization that she was freaking out just ratcheted up the panic inside her.

"What's wrong?" He sounded wide awake now, and worried. So, she wasn't fooling him.

"I'm scared." She forced the sob back down her throat.

"I know, but I'll protect you. I swear."

"I know you will, but you also seem, like, really happy about the whole thing. I mean, like you're excited."

Jake laughed. "Well, we like a good fight."

"See, that's part of what has me so freaked out," she wailed. "You guys are getting all cocky about it. It's a big fucking deal, Jake, not some high school fight."

"Hey," his voice was softer, "I know that, believe me. But we've done this before. And we're genetically designed for success. Besides, we can't go into it without our game faces on. What good will being scared do any of us? It's coming, and we're prepared."

Maura really could understand that logic, but emotionally she couldn't let her fear go. "I don't want you to… um, get hurt." Her voice was a raspy whisper. The tears had started again.

"I'm coming back over," he said. She could hear the sheets rustling as he got out of bed.

She knew she should tell him no. He needed his rest, but she needed to be with him.

"M-maybe I should come there. Billy would be alone if you came here."

"Just how are you going to get here, walk? Because that's about as dangerous for a lone female in the middle of the night as this fight we're gearing up for."

"I'll borrow Seth's car. Or he can drop me off. He's not asleep yet. I really need my own car," she grumbled.

"Yep." His voice sounded oddly vague. She was about to ask if he was listening to her when she heard him yawn loudly.

"You're tired. Forget it. I won't sleep much tonight, being in Leah's head, but there's no reason you shouldn't."

"Tell Sue you're coming over here. I'll be there in five minutes."

*****

Twenty minutes later, Jacob had Maura sitting on his bed, wrapped in a blanket. He popped the top off of two of his dad's beers and handed her one.

"Maybe this will help you relax." He sat down next to her, leaning back against the head board. He stifled a yawn and drank his beer.

"You need to sleep, Jake. It's okay. I'll just sit up a while and listen to…." He watched her pause, cocking her head to focus on whatever Billy was playing on the cd player in the living room, the sound muffled by his closed bedroom door. "Is that?"

"Eagles, I believe. Fleetwood Mac should be next. Dad loves his seventies rock." Jake grinned.

"Well, he's got good taste. Any Lynyrd Skynyrd in that collection?" Maura asked, and Jacob nodded, laughing. "My dad was the seventies rock man in our house. My mom was eighties all the way."

"Do you… have you heard from him?"

"Nope," Maura answered quickly, then sighed loudly. "I don't expect to. And I'm not worried about that right now."

"I know." Jacob set his beer down and grabbed the one she was barely drinking from her. He put it next to his on the night stand. He wanted to reassure her somehow. To convey to her just how confident he was in their ability to handle the bloodsuckers. "Maura, it will be fine." He picked up her hand, stopping her from fidgeting anymore with the hem of the blanket.

He was stunned to see her eyes fill with tears.

"Please stop saying that," she whined, seeming frustrated. "Ugh. Listen to me. I know you will do everything in your power, but that's just it. You won't stop and you're so confident. I'm scared that something is going to happen to you. You'll miss something. You won't see when to cut and run."

"That's because I won't cut and run." Jacob's voice was firm and his eyes were fierce. They widened in surprise when Maura wailed again and flopped back on the bed, still crying.

"I'm freaking out. I'm trying to be strong and supportive, but I'm so scared. Not for me, but for you." She squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head into the mattress. Jacob couldn't stand the anguish on her face.

"Stop, shhh." He stretched out beside her and pulled her into his arms. He felt her shaking.

"I can't… What am I going to do if something happens to you? I feel so stupid and melodramatic, but, Jake, the thought of something happening to you. I can't breathe."

"It's o—" he stopped himself from repeating words that might further upset her. "I know. I know how you feel. If anything happened to you, I would lose my mind. That is why nothing will. I refuse to let it." He kissed her softly and wiped the tears from her face.

Maura surprised him by kissing him back, not softly but with all the desperation she was obviously feeling. He felt her hands curl into his hair, pulling him closer as her leg hitched over his hip. He trailed his hands down to her upper thigh and squeezed, pulling her tighter to him, until there was no space left between them.

Their bodies rocked together while they kissed, barely giving each other the chance to breathe. Jacob rolled Maura to her back and settled between her legs. He pulled back, smiling as she whimpered in protest of their broken kiss.

He stared deep into her gray eyes, silently questioning her, needing to make sure this was what she really wanted, to know that it wasn't just fear that was driving her actions. She didn't speak, just nodded, fresh tears welling up in her eyes.

He sat back on his heels and pulled her to a sitting position, pulling her shirt up and off, throwing it to the floor. He smiled again when she blushed.

"I want this, Jake," she whispered. "I want you."

He laid her gently back down, resting on his forearms above her, placing hot kisses from her lips to her jaw and down her neck. "I want you, Maura." He kissed her once more in the hollow between her shoulder and collar bone, before raising his head back to her face, to look into her eyes. "I love you. Let me show you."

*****

The next morning, Jake woke just before his alarm. He reached over to turn it off so it wouldn't wake up Maura, who was still sleeping soundly pressed up against his back. He knew she had been awake off and on all night during Leah's patrol. He had been somewhat of a typical male and fallen asleep contentedly after they had made love, but he woke up briefly several times, aware of her restlessness.

Now, he turned on his back and pulled her to his side. He smiled when she mumbled something in her sleep. Then he frowned when he heard his cell phone vibrate.

"Yeah?" he whispered harshly into the phone.

"It's Leah. We need to talk."

Jacob sat up in bed, gently untangling himself from Maura. He pulled on some boxers and quietly left the room. "Did something happen?"

"Yes and no. On the vamp side of things, we're still in a holding pattern." Jacob couldn't help but notice the angry tone of Leah's voice.

"Good. What is it then, because it is nine o'clock in the morning, I don't have to be at work until noon, and I've got company."

"Yeah, I know. That's the problem."

Jacob nearly growled. "Why is that a problem."

He heard Leah blow out a long breath before answering. "Well, apparently after you started sawing logs last night, Maura and I had quite the mind reading session."

"Tell me you were not in her head while we—"

"Ew. No, thank God. It was after, though she did have to repress her mental replay so I wouldn't vomit."

"Cut to the chase, please," he urged.

"She's freaking out. Like, bad."

"I know. That's why she came over last night." Jacob leaned against the hallway wall and let his hand rest on his bedroom door knob. He just wanted to end this seemingly pointless call with Leah and go back to bed with Maura for another hour before he had to get to work.

"She doesn't want you to fight," Leah continued.

"Yeah, I know. We talked last night. Listen, I'll talk to you later." He abruptly hung up, silencing the beginning of Leah's protest. He went back into his room, closing the door behind him, to find Maura gazing sleepily at him from his bed. He stared for a minute, drinking in the sight of her tangled in the sheets, her hair fanning messily across his pillow. "Good morning, beautiful."

She smiled. "Good morning, sunshine." They both laughed as Jacob settled back in bed beside her. He leaned down to kiss her and was glad she didn't push him away with the morning breath excuse. In fact, she kissed him back almost hungrily.

"So, I heard your dad leave about six this morning," Maura whispered, kissing down the side of his neck.

Jacob fought back a moan at the sensation. "Fishing."

"Good. Um, Jake, I want to talk to you."

"Talk? Right now?" He stopped the progress of his hands trailing down her back. She nodded and sat up, pulling the sheet up with her. He tried to tug it away, but she held firm. "Okay. Talk."

"First, last night was amazing." He smiled as she blushed before she continued, "And, I know I only told you in the uh… middle of things, but it was sincere. I love you." She paused then, and looked up at the ceiling for what felt like a long time. "And the imprint—"

"The imprint has nothing to do with it, Maura. I told you. It just makes it that much more intense, but my feelings for you are there regardless."

"I know. Mine, too. But the imprint makes us somehow even more bound to each other, right?" He nodded, narrowing his eyes, trying to see where she was going with the conversation. "So, if I asked something of you…."

When she didn't continue right away, he groaned in frustration. "Maura, I would do anything for you. You are my number-one priority now, and always. And, from what Sam and Leah have told me, it's nearly impossible not to give your imprint what they want. What do you need?"

"I need you." She spoke so softly he barely heard her.

"You have me." Jacob picked up her hand and kissed the fingers that were still clutching the sheet to her body.

"I need you… not to fight." Tears filled her eyes, but she wouldn't look at him.

He sat up and took hold of her shoulders. "Maura, look at me. I'm coming back for you. As soon as we destroy the bloodsuckers and make sure everyone is safe. I'm coming right back to you." She finally met his gaze, slowly shaking her head no. "Wait, you're not really asking me to—"

"For me. Please, Jacob."

"Please don't ask me that." Jacob could already feel something different inside himself. An unyielding desire to do what she asked, even while he knew he couldn't give in. "Maura, what you're asking me is impossible. I'm an alpha. How can I ask the others to face this if I don't?"

She sat still, staring in his eyes. Her eyes were filled with tears, but her face was set with resolve.

"God damn it." Jacob jumped out of bed. "Are you kidding me?" He stared back at her, the fury growing inside him. How could she possibly ask this of him? Did she not have faith in him? Did she not truly believe he would come back from the fight as the victor? How could she ask him not to lead his pack, to let Leah and Seth face the danger alone? And knowing how he was bound to her, how he would not want to refuse her, she asked him this anyway.

He nearly punched the wall to relieve some of the stress threatening to explode inside his body. This was the first time in three years that he was close to phasing uncontrollably.

He turned his back to her and braced his arms against the window.

"You need to go."

He could hear her scrambling out of bed behind him. He felt her tentatively touch his shoulder. He could not stop the low, warning growl.

"Jake, please. You don't understand. I'm bound to you, too. I can't lose you." She pressed her forehead to his back. "I'm going. I'll be dressed in a second. But I can't take it back, Jacob. I love you."

Less than thirty seconds after he heard her leave the room, Jacob threw his window open and bolted outside. He took off toward the forest, phasing well before he got to the cover of the trees.

*****

Maura jogged home and ran to her room, avoiding eye contact with Sue and Seth. She showered in record time, dressed, and shot out the door, intending to jog to work. She was about halfway there, when she saw Leah's Suburban coming towards her down the two lane road.

Leah passed her, whipped a U turn, and pulled to a screeching stop beside her. The passenger side door flew open. "Get in," Leah growled.

Maura knew better than to argue. She climbed up and barely closed the door before Leah took off again. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes.

"What the hell did you do?" Leah finally yelled. "I told you not to do it."

Maura looked down at her lap. "I had to," she said quietly. "No. You didn't." Leah slammed one hand on the steering wheel. "Do you know where he is right now?" Maura shook her head. "Well, neither do I. I felt him phase, so I did, too. But he's blocking me. The only thing I could get was this incredible… anguish."

"I'm sorry. He's blocking me, too."

Leah muttered a curse. "You asking this of him is incredibly selfish. You're putting yourself above everyone else, including Jake."

"How so?" Maura asked defensively.

"You are splitting him in two. He's the alpha of our pack. He's obligated to lead the fight. And you're his imprint who is demanding that he choose you over everything else. Even if he is somehow able to ignore your request, you've handicapped him. How is he going to keep his head in the fight when he's worried about not being there for you?"

"I just… you don't understand," Maura tried to sound tough, but she didn't have an immediate argument to that. She saw Leah roll her eyes in disgust.

They rode in silence for a few minutes until Leah pulled into the diner parking lot. "Huh. Looks like everyone's here this morning. Well, except Jake."

She cut the engine and hopped out. Maura slid out of the passenger side and hurried inside behind Leah, barely registering the "Closed" sign on the door. She was shocked to find that both packs and the Council were there.

"Good morning, girls," Billy greeted them. "Leah, Sue and Seth are on their way. Maura, where's Jacob?"

"I-I don't know."

"What's going on?" Leah demanded, looking from Billy to Sam. Just then, Sue and Seth arrived.

"We really should wait for Jacob," Billy said.

"Yeah, he's M-I-A right now," Leah said, glaring at Maura.

Old Quil spoke up then. "The Cullens called. Tell them, Billy."

The group fell silent, and Billy continued, "Alice Cullen had another vision and the other coven called Carlisle. They will be here. Tonight."

Sam cut in. "We need Jacob to be here for this. Can't one of you get in touch with him?" he asked, looking from Leah to Seth to Maura.

Maura shifted uneasily. "Just give me a minute to try." She stepped back outside and concentrated her thoughts on Jacob as hard as she could. She hoped that this would somehow be the equivalent of yelling to get his attention.

_Jake, please_,_ please unblock me. We need you back here. _

She waited, pacing back and forth in front of the window, avoiding the curious looks of the people inside and Leah's open hostility.

_Jake, please. They're coming tonight. I need to know where you are. _

Another few minutes passed with no answer. She opened the door and walked back inside. She stopped just inside the door, as all eyes turned to her.

"I —" Maura began, panicking internally as she tried to find words to explain why Jacob wasn't there. Just then, the kitchen door swung open.

"Hey, I'm here," Jacob said, panting for breath. His clothes looked as though they'd been hastily pulled on after phasing. His expression was serious, and Maura could see the tension in his shoulders and eyes. She could also see, underneath his anger, the subconscious and immediate effect of the imprint when their eyes met and his expression brightened for a brief moment. Normally, she tried not to think about the imprint and how it governed their relationship, but just then, she was very glad of its effects.

She watched as Jacob's eyes left her and met Seth's confused stare and Leah's scowl.

"Does your pack need a few minutes, Jacob?" Old Quil asked.

He shook his head. "First, I want to know what you know." He sat down at the table with the elders and Sam. Seth and Leah sat at a table behind him, while Sam's pack settled in the booths along the side wall.

Maura remained standing, unsure of herself, until Jake reached his hand out to her. He was still angry, she could tell, but he squeezed her hand as she sat down next to him.

"According to Alice Cullen and the Alaska coven, the Volturi vampires should be here tonight," Billy began. "We don't believe they are aware that we will know about their arrival. Their plan seems to be one of observation, not confrontation. At least not yet. But the leader has a particular… penchant for destroying werewolves."

There were audible growls around the room. Old Quil held up a hand to silence them.

Billy continued. "Actual werewolves, not shape shifters. But there haven't been any known shifters in recent history. Maura, your Scottish ancestors may have had the last known contact with any shifters, at least as far as the Volturi are concerned. We have no way of knowing for sure what these cold ones will decide after they meet our surprise welcoming party, but we can make a pretty good guess. So we need to be prepared tonight. The cold ones may just be on a fact finding mission, but it is the packs' duty to keep the tribe safe."

Sam reiterated the original plan. Maura sat stiffly beside Jacob and was about to protest, when Jacob quietly shook his head at her. He leaned down towards her. "We need to talk. Later."

"But Jake —" Maura cut off her protest as Jacob narrowed his eyes in warning. She flushed and looked up to find Billy and Sam watching them intently.

Billy gave Jake a questioning look. Sam continued to stare blankly until Maura saw the comprehension dawn slowly in his eyes. He looked directly at her then with a strange mixture of resentment and understanding. He pulled Emily towards him for a hug and then locked eyes with Jacob. He seemed to be issuing Jake a silent challenge: Take care of this. Now.

The meeting broke up then. Jared was going to escort Kim to her mother's and stay there. Emily was going to open the restaurant until just after lunchtime. Then Sam would take her home to pack a small bag before Quil took her to stay with her sister's family. Leah was going to call Henry and make arrangements for him to pick Maura up when the diner closed and bring her back to Sue's.

Before Jake left, he pulled Maura to the back with him. "We need to talk," he whispered. "I have an obligation to my family, my pack, and my tribe."

"What about to me?" Maura lifted her chin defiantly. She saw Sue out of the corner of her eye giving both of her children a long, crushing hug. A little kernel of guilt began to eat at the back of her mind.

"Of course to you. That was first, family. You are a part of that now."

Maura's eyes filled with tears as the bell over the diner's door rang, signaling the arrival of customers. "I have to go. I'll see you in a few hours, okay?" Jake nodded and kissed her forehead before leaving through the back door.　

Several hours later, Maura helped Emily lock up the diner early, turning away confused, and a bit pissed off, customers. They gave each other a hug in the parking lot and tearfully said good-bye. "It's going to be fine, Maura. Tomorrow morning our guys will be back in our arms. Safe." Emily gave her a watery smile.

Maura was so choked up that she couldn't speak. That guilt that was nibbling at her mind earlier was beginning to take larger bites out of her conscience. She wiped her eyes and hopped into Henry's car.

Back at Sue's, Seth was making up the fold-out couch for Henry. Billy would be taking Seth's bed, if he actually got the chance to sleep at all. Sue and Leah were in the kitchen, preparing for an early dinner as the packs planned to be in position on the outskirts of the reservation before nightfall.

When Leah saw Henry, she dropped what she was doing to wrap her arms around him. "I've been waiting to see you all day." Her usual tough-as-nails demeanor was temporarily gone. She kissed him passionately until Maura blushed and Sue cleared her throat loudly. "Come outside with me for a bit," she said, pulling Henry out the kitchen door behind her.

Seth wandered in after that, having finished with the sleeper sofa and trying to sneak some food from what was cooking on the stove. Sue slapped at his hand with much less force than usual. She looked up into his face with what looked like a mixture of worry and unconditional love. She placed her palm gently on his cheek and smiled. "Thank you for taking care of us tonight, son. Your father would be very proud."

"Aw, Mom. Don't start. This will be a piece of cake," he half-heartedly protested before kissing her on the forehead and walking back out of the room.

By the time Jacob got there and Maura saw him share a long look with his very proud father, Maura's guilty conscience had been ravaged.

"Jake, we need to talk. Now." She grabbed his arm and led him to her bedroom. She closed the door behind them and pushed him down to sit on her bed.

"You know I have to go tonight," he said with quiet conviction.

"I don't want you to. I want you to give me what I asked for," Maura said, sounding even to herself like a petulant child. She held her hand up to stop him from responding. She took a deep breath and changed her tone. "I want to be selfish and immature. B-but I can't. I have watched all day as the families of the other pack members have given them their unwavering support. No matter how scared they might be. Like Emily. She won't let Sam know, but she's terrified. Yet, she isn't standing in his way. And Sue. She has to let both of her children risk their lives tonight, even if Seth is staying here to protect the rest of us. If they can do this, then… I can, too." She heaved a huge, shaky sigh before bursting into tears and falling into Jacob's lap.

He put his arms around her, rubbing slow circles on her back. "I know you're scared and tonight will be hell. But I need you to be strong for me." His voice sounded reassuring and also relieved. She nodded into his chest before he gently took her face in his hands and forced her to look in his eyes. "I can't lose when I know I have you to come back to." He kissed her slow and deep, taking her breath away, while his thumbs softly wiped away the tears that continued to fall.

*****　

**A/N: **As always, a big shout out to my beta, DeeMichelle. Her awesomeness leaves me speechless.

Thank you to those who put me on favorites or alerts and to those who reviewed - the usual suspects and almost a dozen new readers (SunnyZim, addisonj, shaybay55, Gryffindor Gurl2, distinctly forbidden, DreamOnDreamer, Buffyk 0604, Aelyaniara, DonnaK.C., aschim, katemary77, sles, Ashmerlin, Myblueside, Tears_of_Mercury, rainwatter, gracethegal, lostintoughtagain, Trixie 317, High Off Werewolves, Kairi0403, brandinm05, and GeminiScorp). Your feedback is invaluable!

We are nearing the end, my friends. I apologize for the length of time between updates, but RL has decided to be busy. And I want to do these last few chapters as well as I possibly can. So, don't give up on me and be patient, please. Reviews welcome!


	18. Chapter 18 Showdown

**A/N: **Sorry for the long wait between updates. More ramblings at the end. Without further ado:

Disclaimer: SMeyer's

Eighteen - Showdown

Maura stood in the dark, elbow-deep in soapy dish water. She stared out the kitchen window across the tiny patch of the Clearwater's back yard, where normally she would be able to see the forest in the distance, but the fog that rolled in about an hour ago obscured any details beyond the utility pole at the far edge of the lawn.

Leaving the last of the lasagna pans to soak, she tuned in more sharply to the chatter in her head: Jake or Leah calling out locations or sending mental memos to Sam's pack via Seth. She was trying very hard to keep her own mind quiet, careful not to disrupt the pack.

They'd left a while ago, before the sun set at five, before the fog.

Sue walked into the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee and quietly lit some candles. "Thank you for doing the dishes."

"Of course," Maura replied, not looking in Sue's direction.

"You're going to make yourself crazy. Come into the living room with us," Sue suggested, pulling mugs from the cabinet and getting the sugar and creamer ready.

Her eyes still glued to the window, Maura grunted softly before she spoke. "Can't." She jumped a bit when she felt Sue's arms wrap around her shoulders. "Sorry."

"No need to be. You see my Seth anywhere?" Sue rested her chin on Maura's shoulder and gazed out the window with her.

"Little while ago, to the far left. He's sort of pacing in concentric bands. I think he'll be back soon."

Sue stayed in the kitchen, puttering around, until the coffee was ready. Then she loaded up a wooden tray and joined Billy and Henry in the living room, leaving a steaming cup for Maura on the kitchen table.

Maura glanced at the clock. It was almost six. The darkness and the fog were making it futile to continue to stare out the window, but just as she was about to turn, she caught a glimpse of Seth, in wolf form, near the back door.

_You okay? Need anything? _she asked.

He turned and locked eyes with her. _I'm good. Sam's going to run his pack further north. Jake and Leah are staying close to the Forks boundary line, in case they head southeast._

_Hey, Mo. _

It was Jacob. Maura's heart skipped a beat. He had not communicated directly with her since they phased.

_Hey… you and Leah okay?_

_Yes. Quit staring into the fog. Go sit down with my dad for a while._

Maura laughed. _I thought you weren't paying attention to me._

Leah quickly answered back. _Believe me, I am trying to tune you out because you are boring as hell right now._

Jacob chuckled. _You're there in the background, Maura. And we appreciate you not clogging up the brain waves with more compelling thoughts, but you really are going to drive yourself crazy._

_You're right. _She waved to Seth before picking up her coffee cup and walking to the living room.

_Hey, Maura, do me a favor. Show me Henry, _Leah said.

Maura sat down across from Henry on the couch and focused his image in her mind.

_God, he's so hot._

_Ugh, stop, Leah. That's gross, _Seth groaned. Leah snickered.

_Okay, back to work now, guys, _Jacob commanded. _I'll check back in later, Maura._

Maura did not know how long she sat there making small talk with Billy, Sue, and Henry when her phone buzzed in her pocket. Grabbing for it, she saw it was Emily.

"Hi, Em_,_" she answered with a yawn.

"Ugh, I know. I'm exhausted," Emily said. "Quil is patrolling outside, and hasn't been inside in a while. Have you heard anything?"

"I talked to Seth… I don't know, maybe over an hour ago. He said Sam was taking his pack north and Jake's was staying near the Forks border. I've tried to stay out of their heads so I don't distract anyone."

"Oh. Well, if you do talk to them, can you let me know something?"

Maura hesitated before answering. "If I can."

She heard the disappointment in Emily's voice when she replied. "Yeah, okay. I understand. I really don't like it, but …. Call me in a while, okay? I'm going to call and check on Kim."

"I will," Maura promised before hanging up the phone. She looked up and caught Billy's eye. He winked and smiled at her. "Emily was checking in."

"You doing okay?" Billy asked. She nodded, then got up to cross the room and gave him a hug.

Just as she was standing up, a wave of ice cold and nausea overtook her.

_*****_

_Jake, I'm getting something. I don't know how far away. _Maura was frantic.

Seconds later, Seth chimed in. _I just got word from Sam. They've picked up the scent about fifteen miles north. They estimate maybe five or six of them._

Jacob felt the fur on the scruff of his neck bristle as both Seth and Maura communicated almost simultaneously that danger was near.

His eyes met Leah's, and he angled is head northward. She huffed in agreement. They began running toward Sam's pack. _Seth, tell Sam we're on our way. Maura, go ahead and tell my dad, and Sue and Henry._

_It's show time, _Leah quipped, maintaining a pace that literally kept her at Jacob's heels.

Within ten minutes, Jacob and Leah rendezvoused with Sam's pack, who were fanned out in a semi circle on a stretch of empty field that lay on the La Push side of the Quileute-Cullen boundary line.

Jacob locked eyes with the large black wolf that was Sam. They each lowered and raised their heads in a nod of respect. He and Leah joined their places along the imaginary arc that Sam's pack had formed.

_Seth, tell Sam that Maura sensed a possible six, _Jacob ordered.

Leah gave a low growl. _Six to five._

Jacob heard Maura break in immediately. _Out-numbered._

_Out-numbered, maybe, but we're not at a disadvantage. We'll be _—He was cut off by Seth.

_I can be there in no time, Jake. Just say the word._

_Hold tight, man. They probably still don't know we're here. We'll see them come up over that rise before they are aware of us._

And when the voices communicating inside his head started to protest and argue, Jacob silenced them with a warning growl. He watched as Sam flicked a questioning gaze sideways to him for a split second.

Then coherent thought and emotion were choked out of him as the over-sweet smell of his enemies snuck in on the fog.

In tandem, he and Sam stepped forward while the rest of the pack behind them tensed in preparation for attack.

The vampires were moving relatively slowly, walking in a loose formation. They halted abruptly at both the sight and the scent of the wolves.

They were quickly locked in a stand-off, less than fifty yards apart, the fog partially obscuring each side's view of the enemy. Jacob scanned the group, his senses zeroing in on the one who must be the leader, and noting the slightly panicked look in a few of the others' eyes.

"So… it's true. Werewolves." The muted voice that came out of the leader was melodic, Jacob thought, and slightly reminiscent of the Cullens' overly beautiful speech.

"Real werewolves? These don't smell the same. Something's different," commented another, as he began inching backwards, as if in preparation to flee the scene.

The leader gave a warning snarl, his eyes never leaving the wolves. "Silence! I've taken down more than this by myself before. This," —he waved his arm, indicating the packs—"is nothing."

_Seth, talk to Sam. I've got the leader pegged. Here. _Jacob shot Seth the image.

A few seconds later, Seth responded. _Sam's got him. And suspects a second in command further off to the right. _He flashed Jacob that image.

Jake quickly assessed their opponents and made a mental match-up list for Seth to send to Sam. Meanwhile, the lead bloodsucker seemed to be regaling his friends with werewolf fights from the past.

Jacob could not believe the arrogance nor the unthinkable amount of time the vampires were wasting in observation and discussion. He didn't feel like indulging the bloodsuckers anymore, and thought they could tip the advantage in the wolves' favor by attacking in mid-dialogue. He twitched his ears forward and then back, flattening them to his skull. He noticed Sam catch the subtle movement, then copy him. It was time.

In the next second, they sprang into action in tandem, closing the gap between themselves and the bloodsuckers almost instantly. Landing just feet apart, Jacob went for the leader, while Sam sought out the second. He heard Leah to his right, focused on the nervous one who was already running backwards. Paul was off to Sam's left, already engaged, leaving Embry to play a game of wolf-in-the-middle with the remaining two, both female and therefore, hopefully, slower and weaker. Jacob glanced quickly over at his long-time friend, knowing from his experience with the Cullens that female didn't necessarily equal inferior vampires, and hoped Embry could stay out of reach but occupy them until Leah or Paul could assist.

The leader laughed as the vamps scattered, provoking the chase from the wolves. Then he, too, spun in a blur and ran. Jacob was momentarily surprised. He realized his expectation was for a fight, not a chase, but quickly understood that the vampires would need to run. If they didn't, and the wolves pounced, they could get torn to shreds before being able to bite and infect them with their deadly venom.

Taking the liberty of a few seconds for observation, he saw that all the wolves were nowhere to be seen, clearly in the midst of pursuit, except Embry, and he was the most vulnerable. The other wolves simply needed to catch their prey, but Embry could be surrounded, giving at least one bloodsucker the chance to bite. He thought for a moment to abandon his opponent, but knew he couldn't chance allowing one of them to get away.

_Seth, quick, we need Quil. Embry needs him. _As soon as the thought was communicated, Jake began to run in the direction the leader had taken back into the cover of the dense forest. Only a few paces later, he had his reply from Seth.

_On his way. Jake…?_

Anticipating the repeated request from Seth, Jacob answered immediately. _No. Not yet. _And then he shut his mind down, putting all concentration on his sense of smell as he swiftly tracked his prey.

He pounded through the forest, barely registering the feeling of tree limbs snatching at his fur. He was closing in on his target; the scent getting stronger with each lengthy stride.

Suddenly, through the dark, dense fog, Jacob could see that his quarry had quit moving. He had turned, instead, to face him. Jake slowed his pace momentarily, stalking in a low crouch.

Had he been in human form, he would have grinned. There was no way the leech could outrun him now. Anticipation set fire to his nervous system. It had been a long time since he had destroyed one of them.

And then it dawned on him. _This is too easy._ The vampires had all scattered, except the two on Embry. They weren't running away, they were luring them away, ensuring their numbers advantage continued to grow. Two could take out Embry and then join another to double team two more wolves.

He paused, mid-step, and swiveled his ears backwards, trying to hear anything that would let him know how Sam's pack, and especially Embry, was faring.

The vamp must have caught the hesitation because his stance relaxed a fraction as an eerie smile broke the evil frozen mask of his face.

_Leah, you okay? _Jacob risked extending the pause in his attack to check in.

It took several seconds before she replied _I'm fucking great! _She relayed a visual of the last few seconds of her victory.

_Get to Embry. Now!_ Jake shut his mind down again immediately. He knew Maura was listening in. He could mentally sense her but also, somehow, emotionally feel her presence. He knew she was scared, but above that, he knew she would stay strong for her friends and for him. Still, the less she witnessed the details of the fight, the better. And he needed to focus. He shook his head, faintly, one time.

The bloodsucker began shaking slightly before erupting in high-pitched laughter. "My, my. The American versions really are just puppies," he taunted.

Jake could not suppress the snarl or the baring of his teeth. The fur on his back stood at immediate, painful attention, and before the laughter died on the vampire's lips, he was on him.

*****

Maura knew the exact moment it was all over. Even though she was still officially being blocked, she could feel it down to the marrow of her bones. She did not know the outcome; she just knew it was done. A sense of stillness came over her. Still, but not calm.

Slowly, she uncurled from her spot on the couch. Sometime during the last hour, Sue had brought them all blankets and a fresh round of coffee. She set her mug down on the end table and pulled her blanket up to wrap it around her shoulders. Her eyes instinctively sought Billy. He was by the fireplace, staring into the flames, lost in thought.

He must have felt her gaze upon him, because he turned to her after a few seconds. When their eyes met, an unspoken message seemed to pass between them. He furrowed his brow in question.

"It's done," she whispered, her voice catching in her throat as she made the announcement to everyone in the room. She kept her gaze on Billy, looking into eyes so much like Jacob's. "I don't know anything else. They haven't let me back in."

She picked up her mug, the now-cold coffee sloshing the sides of the cup as she disappeared into the kitchen. She had to get away from the questioning faces in the other room. Because, really, she didn't know anything for sure. She just had a feeling. Setting her mug in the sink, she closed her eyes and focused her thoughts on the person she hoped would be easiest to get through to.

_Seth, please hear me. It's done, isn't it?_

She waited a long time, a five-minute eternity, before receiving an answer.

_It's over. I'm going out to meet them now._

Maura noted his thoughts actually seemed out of breath. He must be running full speed, his brain waves naturally falling into the rhythm of his more-labored breathing as he raced to meet the packs.

_Seth…, _she questioned.

_I don't know yet. Soon as I can, _he promised, his broken thoughts still able to convey his message. He would let her know how everyone had fared as soon as he saw them for himself.

She turned around and leaned back against the cold edge of the sink, taking in deep breaths to try to quell the anxiety.

After a few more minutes, Henry joined her in the kitchen. He stood awkwardly in the doorway, leaning one shoulder against the frame.

"This fucking sucks," he said quietly. "The waiting. I want to be out there, you know, protecting her. But no matter what I tell myself in my own head, I don't have super powers." He laughed weakly.

Maura gave him half a smile. "Yeah."

_Awwww. Tell him he's my super man!_

"It's Leah!" Maura nearly shouted, startling Henry and causing Sue and Billy to join them from the living room.

_Hey, Maura. Gang's all here. We'll be home soon. We have to phase here because… well, then we're on our way home. Jake wanted me to tell you. Call Emily, okay?_

_I will. Okay, thanks, Leah. _Maura focused her attention back to the group in the kitchen. "She said they're all there and will be home soon. They have to phase from where they are for some reason." She picked up the nearby phone to call Emily.

As she relayed the brief message to Emily, she watched Sue begin to move frantically around the kitchen, pulling out pots and pans and rifling through her pantry. She hung up with Emily, promising to have Sam call her the minute he got to the house.

"Sue… what are you doing?" Billy asked.

Sue didn't miss a beat, just turned on the oven and headed to the refrigerator. "They'll be hungry."

"How can I help?" Maura asked, washing her hands while Sue began giving her instructions. The fact that they were both oozing nervous energy was not lost on her.

Their frenetic pace seemed to be agitating Henry, who ran his hands through his hair, scrubbed them down his face, and declared brusquely, "I need a beer."

Sue leaned back over to the refrigerator, opened the door, rummaged around, and threw Henry a cold can from the bottom shelf. "Catch!"

He laughed, popping the top and taking a long swig before he and Billy returned to the calm of the living room.

Twenty minutes later, eggs were scrambled, left-over steak was heated, and biscuits were almost finished baking in the oven, when they heard the low rumble of an engine in the driveway. The front door burst open and both packs piled in, including Jared, who must have gotten Sam's pick-up truck and given them a ride.

The house was instantly crowded and noisy, everyone talking at once. Maura dropped her oven mitt and pushed past Leah, giving her arm a squeeze, as she tried to get to Jacob. She wanted to lay her eyes on him, to see for herself that he was really here, safe and unharmed. Her heart was pounding in her chest and the familiar tingles were pinging along her nervous system from head to foot.

She brushed past Jared, Quil, Paul, and Seth, who were standing in the living room talking to Billy, and skidded to a halt in the strangely empty foyer. Where was Jacob? For that matter, where were Sam and Embry?

Hesitating for only a second, she continued outside through the open door and jumped down off the porch, running the short distance through the unusually thick fog to the truck in the driveway.

"Jake!" Maura's voice was almost a high-pitched whine. She saw him and Sam bent over at the back of the truck.

He straightened when he heard her voice, and a smile broke through what looked like worry on his face. "Come here," he said, opening his arms.

Maura shamelessly threw herself into them, startling Jacob and causing him to stumble backwards into the lowered tailgate.

"You're okay, you're okay," she mumbled into his chest, before pulling back to run her hands over his torso and arms, searching intently for any sign of injury. She paused at the finger-shaped bruises on his upper arms and throat. She heard his breath catch when she squeezed him in another fierce hug.

"I'm good. I think I bruised or cracked a rib, and I've got some minor cuts but those aren't from any vampires. Just tree branches or rocks on the ground. Everyone's pretty good… except Embry." He pulled away from her and turned back to Sam, who lifted his head in a nod before returning his attention back to the darkened bed of the truck.

"Is he… back there?" Maura peered around Jacob. "How bad is it?"

"That's what I want to know," Billy said, wheeling himself down the driveway. "I just got the story from the boys." He maneuvered around Jacob and Maura, coming to a stop beside Sam. "How you doing, son?"

Embry erupted in a coughing fit as he tried to speak. "F-fine…."

"Some broken ribs and a pretty big goose egg on the back of his head. But we're mostly worried about his leg," Sam explained. "He needs a doctor, but… I don't know, Billy. How are we going to explain it? His leg is crushed."

Just then, Sue joined them outside. She got Sam to help her hop up into the truck, where she crouched down beside Embry. "We'll deal with the story later. He needs surgery, regardless of how quickly his wolf genes will help him heal. We don't need them regenerating out of alignment." She stroked her hand over Embry's forehead. "Your mother would never forgive me if I didn't make sure you were taken care of."

"Come on, then Sue. You can drive me over to the Call's to pick up his mom. Sam and Jake, drive Embry to the Forks hospital as quickly as you can. We'll meet you there. Don't say too much, just bring him in and let the doctors take over."

Maura watched as Sue climbed back down from the truck while Billy threw her the keys to his own pick-up.

By this time, everyone else had filed outside. There was some confusion and wasting of time as people went to give Embry a pat on the shoulder or a word of encouragement, and argued over who was going to the hospital and who was staying home.

Sam, usually so in charge of the environment around him, stood uncharacteristically quietly off to the side. His face was an open book of worry and something that seemed like guilt. Maura decided that, as alpha, he must feel personally responsible for the members of his pack.

Jacob's voice finally cut through the noise. "Henry, just take Leah home. She's more banged up than she's letting on, and she's bound to crash soon from the adrenaline high she's on now. Seth, stay here. You and Paul and Jared can eat whatever Sue was cooking."

Quil was already sliding into the passenger side of Sam's truck. Maura knew she shouldn't be disappointed. They had to leave now and get Embry to the emergency room as quickly as possible. But she couldn't help selfishly wanting Jacob to stay or for her to ride with him. He'd only just gotten back, and she didn't want to have to let him out of her sight.

While Jacob was talking with Sam about riding in the back with Embry, Maura ran into the house and threw as much food as she could grab into a plastic shopping bag. She returned to the driveway just as Jacob was starting to back out.

"Hey!" she called, worried that he wouldn't hear her. But Jacob's head turned back toward her, and he stopped the truck. She ran over and handed the bag to him through the open window. "You guys need to eat, too."

"Thanks, Mo." Jacob let out a shaky breath, the stress evident on his face. "I'll call you as soon as I can." He leaned out and gave her a quick kiss.

She backed away, slowly, and stayed outside until she could no longer see the dull red glow of the truck's tail lights through the foggy night.

*****

It was several hours later, almost morning, when Jacob could finally leave the hospital with Billy.

Embry had been given heavy pain medication, and a life flight was called in to transport him to a better-equipped, first class hospital in Seattle. The doctors in Forks feared the blood loss, possible lacerated arteries, and shattered femur and patella could cause him to lose his leg, and admitted his case was beyond their expertise.

Sue had gone with Embry's mom in the life flight helicopter, convincing Sam to let Quil take him home to Emily, and to try to get some rest. Jake had parted from his former alpha in the parking lot of the ER, giving him a rare, one-armed hug. The guilt eating at Sam was obvious, almost tangible. And Jacob felt it, too.

Embry had been his best friend his whole life. And he was an alpha. Embry should not have been left to deal with two bloodsuckers while everyone else was matched one for one. He and Sam had instinctively gone for the two leaders, and Jake had hoped Quil would have reached Embry in time, which technically he did. The leeches had been destroyed, but not soon enough, not before Embry had gotten hurt.

Blinking to stay awake, he pulled into the driveway and noticed a light on in the kitchen.

Billy yawned, then chuckled softly. "Looks like you've got company."

Jake cut the engine and smiled, a surge of energy returning when he realized Maura was there waiting for him. He had called her from the hospital, giving her the basic details of the fight and updating her on Embry. But he expected her to be at the Clearwater's now, sound asleep.

He quickly assisted Billy down from the truck and into his wheelchair, practically running to get them into the house. Billy almost dissolved into hysterics watching Jake fumble with the key.

"Shut it, old man," he growled, leaving his father just inside the door as he hurried to wrap his arms around Maura again.

"Hey, I hope you don't —" Maura began before he cut her off with a kiss, "—mind," she finished, laughing.

"Good night, you two," Billy called, still laughing himself as he made his way to his bedroom.

Jake pulled Maura down the hall to his room and closed the door behind them. He lifted her up in a tight hug, walking her to his bed and dropping her on the mattress.

"How are you? Do you need to clean up your cuts or anything?" Maura asked. He didn't answer her, just looked at her and shook his head no, pulling off his shoes and jeans. "What about your ribs?"

He shrugged. "Healing. I got an x-ray while we waited for the life flight for Embry. It's fine. Shhh." He yanked her shoes from her feet and threw them across the room, where they landed against the wall with a thud. He leaned over her, tugging the comforter down. "Get in."

Maura flushed and crawled under the covers. Jacob got in beside her, pulling her close so they were in spoons. He buried his face in her hair, enjoying the silky strands against his face. He inhaled deeply, humming absentmindedly as her scent wrapped around him.

Maura giggled. "Are you sniffing me? I thought that was my trick?"

"Mmmhmmm."

"Do you think Embry's going to be okay?"

Jake sighed. "Yeah, I think so. We regenerate and heal quickly, but his bones were shattered. I don't know."

"Do you think they'll start asking questions?"

"I hope not. The plan is to get him out of that hospital as soon as he's stable."

"Do you think the doctors will release him that easily?"

"I don't know," he snapped. Her questions were beginning to irritate him, playing into the anxiety, fear, and guilt that he was trying to ignore. But it wasn't her fault. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

She turned over to face him, lifting her fingers to trace the features of his face. "Go to sleep, Jake."

"What are you doing?" he asked. Her fingers danced across his eyebrows lightly, over and over, causing his eyes to close.

"My mom used to do this when I was little, to get me to go to sleep. Is it working?"

He smiled, eyes still closed, and yawned. "Yeah."

He was finally drifting off to sleep, pushing his worries for Embry to the back of his mind, when his consciousness became aware of a change in Maura's breathing. He opened his eyes to find her crying.

"Hey," he said softly. "It's over. It's okay. "

"I know." She sniffled and rubbed the tears from her eyes. "I was just so scared."

"I told you I was coming back for you. Believe me now?"

She nodded, snuggling closer to him. "What happens next?"

"I don't know for sure. We'll talk to Carlisle, I guess, and find out what the Volturi have to say about their defeat."

They were quiet after that. Jacob fought against the urge to replay the fight over again, endlessly, in his mind, and succumbed finally to a deep, dreamless sleep.

*****

**A/N: **Thank you to my beta, DeeMichelle. Honestly, she is an great beta and an amazing person. I heart you!

Voting in manyafandom's 2nd For My Valentine Contest has started and continues until February 23rd. Check it out at www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/u/2202214/ForMyValentineTwilight or link to it from my profile.

Thank you to those of you who favorited or alerted this fic and to the following who reviewed and sent really kind messages of encouragement over the past few months: AnnabelleLee13194, addisonj, Gryffindor Gurl2, Ashmerlin, SunnyZim, GeminiScorp, distinctly forbidden (twice!), DreamOnDreamer, Artemis-moongoddess89, sles, twilightfan 722, Tears_of_Mercury, KageOkami-kogo, CPbooklover, Donna KC, rangerlove, nice 99, vattenkanna, winter1990, birken, and mdanser.

We've got one chapter left. Can you believe it? Thanks, again, everyone for your continued support!


	19. Chapter 19 Moving On

**A/N: **It's been forever. So, here is a mini chapter - part of my original final chapter, which is also almost done. Thank you to those who have stuck with me. Thank you to my beta, DeeMichelle! More at the end.

Nineteen - Moving On

Jacob glanced at the clock. It was four, and his midday shift at the garage was over. He hurried to the back room to change clothes and wash up. He had to be at the physical therapy center of Forks Community Hospital by four-thirty to pick Embry up from his first appointment.

It had been two weeks.

They'd managed to get Embry out of Harborview Medical in Seattle the day before, with the help of an unexpected phone call from Carlisle Cullen. The highly respected and renowned Dr. Cullen had somehow convinced the staff to allow Embry to be discharged early to continue under the care of the physical rehabilitation facility in Forks.

Two long weeks.

Tension was high in La Push, the pack members were not sure whether or not they could let down their guard. And two more boys had gotten "sick." They were barely in high school, and no one knew what their transformation meant in terms of the current danger level.

Jake jumped into the roomy station wagon he'd borrowed from Sue and headed across town, barely noticing the twinkling lights of the holiday decorations along the sidewalks and store fronts. Passing the police station, he caught a glimpse of Chief Swan just exiting the multi-use building that also housed City Hall.

Even at a distance, it was possible to tell by the set of the Chief's shoulders as he walked toward his squad car the toll the last two years had taken on him. Jake had no idea what story Bella had given him to excuse her disappearance, but she had left her father a very broken man.

Shaking his head to clear all thoughts of her, Jake realized it had been a long time since she had occupied his brain waves. Strange. He never thought he would get over her and now he rarely thought of her at all. Still, he felt a little badly for Charlie. He had basically lost everyone who meant anything in his life through Bella's choices.

_Fucking bloodsuckers. And Bella's one of them now.  
_

He refocused his energies. The enemy. The very reason his best friend had come close to losing his leg and his life. And yes, Carlisle had helped them out. Twice. And the Cullens had that pact with the Quileutes. But their very presence for a few years and their refusal to stay away from humans… well Bella… was the very thing that had put the La Push wolves on the Volturi's radar in the first place.

Forcing the train of thought firmly to the back of his mind, he pulled into a space in front of the non-emergency entrance at the hospital and pressed the hazard lights button. He hopped out of the car and rushed inside to find Embry waiting with an orderly in the lobby.

Embry was still immobilized in a wheel chair, his leg in a cast to his hip. He looked like he'd worked up a sweat and his furrowed brow indicated he was in pain.

"Hey, man. Sorry I'm late." Walking around the back of the wheel chair and grabbing the handles, Jake nodded to the orderly, who disappeared after patting Embry on the shoulder.

"You're not late. We ended early." Embry's voice was quiet and strained.

Jake quickly wheeled him to the waiting car and helped him stretch out on the pallet Sue had laid out in the back of the station wagon for the ride home. He watched in concern as Embry tried to get comfortable, wincing and closing his eyes.

"Did they give you anything for the pain?"

"Yep. It should kick in soon, and I'll be out like a light. Just try not to hit every bump in the road from here to La Push."

Jacob closed the tailgate and got back in the driver's seat. Exiting the parking lot, he asked, "How did it go?"

"It sucked. But I did a lot of talking to the physical therapist and asked a lot of questions. I know what to do, which is good because I can't go back." At that, Embry closed his eyes and let his head rest against the car window.

Glancing in the rear view mirror, Jake saw Embry's eyes remain closed. He turned up the volume of the radio and headed for the state highway that led back to La Push. Embry was right, he wouldn't be going back. The Quileute wolves healed too rapidly to be explained by regular human medical science. He would have to continue his therapy at home and in the reservation's ill-equipped gym at the Community Center.

The rest of the relatively short ride back to La Push was quiet. Embry dozed in the back until Jake pulled up in front of the Call's small house. He helped Mrs. Call get Embry settled on the couch, making her promise to call him if she needed anything and reminding her that Sam would be over soon. He and the other wolves were going to take turns checking in on Embry, knowing that it was only him and his mother at home. Mrs. Call wouldn't be able to move Embry if she needed to.

A few minutes later, Jacob was pulling into the parking lot of Emily's Diner. It was a little early for dinner, and Maura's shift didn't end for another hour and a half.

"Hi!" Maura grinned at him from behind the counter. He made his way over, leaning over to give her a quick kiss before sitting down. "How's Embry?"

Jake shrugged. "Okay. In a lot of pain."

Emily joined them, handing Jake a basket of French fries. "Sam is going over there as soon as he checks in on Collin and Brady."

"Yeah. They should be just about through the worst of it by now," Jake commented before grabbing a handful of fries.

"Is it scary, when you go through it?" Maura asked.

"Kind of. You basically don't even know this whole thing exists unless you do go through it or are an imprint. So, you have no idea something like this could happen to you. Sam went through it alone, but the rest of us have been much luckier."

Jacob noticed Emily frown and seem to hesitate.

"What is it, Em?"

When she looked up at him, he saw the anxiety in her eyes. "I just… it's just… with two more boys phasing, doesn't that mean there are… more?"

Maura nodded and lowered her voice. "The Volturi will probably retaliate, right?"

Jacob understood their fear. It was definitely what he and Sam both expected. But he knew he needed to ease their minds somewhat. "Billy's trying to reach Carlisle Cullen to see if he has any more information. Until then, we continue our patrols. And so far, there's no more sign of vampires on the Olympic Peninsula."

An hour later, after joining Maura for a quick bite to eat, Jake drove her home in Sue's car. After thanking Sue for letting him use the car to get Embry, they filled Sue and Seth in on Embry's progress and discussed how Collin and Brady's families were handling the news of their transformation. Then they headed to Maura's room.

"You have to patrol tonight, right?" Maura asked, closing the door. Jacob flopped back on her bed, knocking several pillow to the floor.

"Yep. But we're both off tomorrow. Why don't I take a nap here before I go out, and then you can sleep over at my house and be there when I get back in the morning?"

"Aw, you want to spend the whole day with me," Maura teased, lying down next to him.

"I do," he answered simply, looking into her eyes. He smiled when he saw her expression change and her cheeks blush. He leaned over and gave her a long kiss, rolling her underneath him when she sighed and darted her tongue out to lick his lips. Their kisses quickly grew more passionate, until Maura pulled away.

"Jake, we can't. Sue and Seth are right out there in the living room."

"So we'll be quiet. Come on." He kissed her again.

Maura groaned in frustration. "It just might be time for me to get my own place. We can't keep sneaking around. It's ridiculous."

Jake propped himself up on his elbow, twirling a piece of her hair around the fingers of his other hand. "I'm working on it. My dad says that Rachel just decided to move back home. So, the house is about to get pretty crowded." He paused, taking a deep breath. "We're still so young and all, but I think I've always subconsciously taken for granted that I'd live with Billy and take care of him."

Maura nodded. "I can see that." She looked serious for a minute before giving another frustrated groan. "Yeah, well, I need a car first before I try to get a place of my own. I can't borrow from Seth and Sue so easily if I don't live with them. Too bad Leah has a roommate." She moved her fingers in air quotes, laughing.

"We'll figure it out," Jake assured her, leaning down to kiss her again. "Until then, I guess I can wait until tomorrow morning, after Dad has gone fishing."

He laughed softly when Maura snuggled into his side and whispered, "Thank God for fishing."

xxxxx

**A/N: **Again - thanks to those who are sticking with this, even with my horrendous update intervals. I apologize. However, I am almost ready with Part 2, so the wait shouldn't be so long this time.

To addisonj, Gryffindor Gurl2, distinctlyforbidden, Tears_of_Mercury, Britt01, mdanser, Noble Korhedron, Mrs. Henry Tilney, cpbooklover, trixie 317, DonnaK.C., and xxMichyBabyxx for the reviews for ch. 18. Thanks to all who have put me on alert or favorites. To Angel for that last bit of butt kicking to just get this posted. And to DeeMichelle who is the best virtual hand holder and cheerleader in the history of ever.


	20. Chapter 20 Homecoming

**A/N**: This is it - the last chapter. Thank you to those who have stuck with it through the long wait between updates. Wordier A/N at the end.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer created Twilight. I just borrowed the wolves for a while. And, Maura's mine.

Twenty - Homecoming

Maura awoke to the full midday sun streaming in through the windows. She was hot and a bit sweaty. In the middle of December.

When she was fully conscious, she sat up, realizing she was tangled up in sheets and Jacob. The memory of him waking her earlier that morning when he came in from patrol made her smile. She looked down at his face to find him watching her.

"What are we going to do today?" she asked, getting up and pulling on one of Jacob's t-shirts.

Jacob propped himself up on his elbows. "Morning to you, too," he said a bit grumpily.

She leaned over and kissed him, effectively erasing his frown. "More like afternoon. I'm going to take a shower. Can you make some coffee?" She didn't wait for a response, but headed down the hall to the bathroom.

After she showered and dressed, she walked into the kitchen to find that Billy was back from fishing, loading his morning catch into the freezer by the side door. Jake was sitting at the table with their coffee ready. Maura joined him.

"What are you two up to today?" Billy asked as he closed the freezer lid then wheeled to the sink to wash up.

"It's getting close to Christmas. I thought maybe we could go to Port Angeles to do some shopping," she suggested.

"Would you mind running by the Wal-Mart while you're there? I've got a list," Billy said, opening a drawer and rifling through scraps of paper until he found it.

"Sure thing, Dad." Jacob took the list from him and stood up. "Let's hit the road then and get some lunch on the way."

Once in Port Angeles, they decided to get Wal-Mart out of the way first, quickly picking up the things Billy requested, before shopping in some of the smaller boutiques in town. They strolled hand-in-hand around town, Maura helping Jacob pick out something for Billy, and Jacob lending a hand choosing gifts for Sue, Leah, Henry, and Seth.

Maura had been given strict instructions from Sue that the Christmas gift exchange around the Rez was typically reserved for immediate family, no one really being in a position to go all-out. Maura appreciated the practicality of this tradition and was also glad she didn't have to figure out the perfect gift for over a dozen people. But, what to do about getting a gift for your imprint? Well, that had not, as of yet, been addressed. Were she and Jacob exchanging gifts? Should she get him something regardless? Would she feel awkward if he didn't get her anything in return? Would that make him feel bad? She decided to just bite the bullet and ask.

"So…" They both started at the same time, then laughed.

"Ladies first," Jacob offered.

"I was just thinking about Christmas."

"Yeah, me, too." Jacob smiled at her and pulled her to a stop against the window of a hardware store. "We haven't really talked about, you know, gifts."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Do you want to?" Maura asked.

She watched as he blushed a little, not meeting her eyes for a moment.

"I sort of already got you something. But," he rushed quickly on, stopping her protests, "it doesn't have to be a big deal. It's something I've been… kind of… planning for a few weeks, without Christmas in mind, really. So, I mean, no pressure. It doesn't have to be a Christmas present."

"Hmmm… very mysterious. Can I have a hint?"

Jake laughed. "No."

Maura smiled. "I'm not giving up that easily, but for now, I guess that means that I've got to go shopping for you." She tugged at his arm, and they headed off again down the crowded sidewalk.

As they finished up their shopping and walked back to the car, Maura noticed a flyer for a local club's New Year's Eve celebration. "That looks like it could be fun. I don't suppose you could get the night off? I mean, provided we don't get any more unwelcome visitors between now and then."

"I'm sure we can work something out with Sam." He opened the hatch on the Rabbit and they deposited their bags inside. "I bet Quil and Paul can cover for our pack if we need them to."

As they started on their drive back home, thoughts of the upcoming new year made Maura realize how much her life had changed in just a few short months. She let her mind drift back to her life in Georgia and shook her head. She didn't feel like she was that person anymore. Her identity as the crazy misfit didn't work out here. She belonged here, she knew that now. In this place, with this tribe, and especially, with Jacob.

XXXXX

A few days later, as Jacob was helping Embry out of bed and onto the couch in the living room, Sam unexpectedly stopped by.

"How goes it today, Embry?" Sam asked.

"A bit better every day. I expect the cast can come off this weekend. What's going on with the newbies?"

"I think they're ready to start training," Sam replied. "In fact, I meant to talk to you about that, Jacob. I think we should both do it; both packs should train them."

Jake thought for a moment before he answered. "I think I like the sound of that, but why?"

Sam laughed. "This whole two-pack thing really is for the best, isn't it? You always did question me too much to really be a pack member or even a beta." Jacob and Embry both laughed, too. "Seriously, though," Sam continued, "they could learn valuable things from both packs, from our different styles and strengths."

Jacob nodded and then grinned. "Yeah, that, and we don't know yet which one of us they can hear."

The training began the next afternoon, as the sun was sinking low in the sky. Both packs were gathered in a small clearing in the forest.

Jacob looked at Collin and Brady, noting the new height each had achieved over the past two weeks. Their expressions seemed to be a mix of nerves and shaky bravado. He smiled to himself, able to relate completely. He turned his focus to Sam, who had started speaking.

"So, the first thing you need to learn is how to phase at will, without provocation. A very close second lesson will be how to control your emotions so you don't phase unexpectedly and how to gain instant control if you do."

Next, Sam instructed them to concentrate on changing forms.

Everyone waited and watched in silence. For several minutes, nothing happened. Jacob could see droplets of sweat beading up on Collin's brow.

Brady finally cracked under the pressure. "This isn't working. I can't do this, with everyone staring at me like that. I don't even know what to think while I'm concentrating. I just keep singing this stupid song from some cartoon in my head, over and over. Who's afraid of the big bad wolf, la, la, la, la, la."

Seth, Quil, and Paul cracked up, causing Brady to turn a deep red in embarrassment. Collin was silently staring at the ground, picking at his fingernails. The beads of sweat on his forehead were now coursing tiny rivers down the sides of his face and neck.

Leah snorted quietly in the background, seemingly trying to stop herself from laughing along with the others.

"Enough," Jake commanded. He felt badly for the two very young initiates. Looking over at Sam, he could tell that he did, too. "Sam, maybe you could phase. Show them how it's done."

Sam agreed, phasing almost instantly. The boys stared at him in awe, mouths hanging open. Jacob watched as Sam looked each boy in the eye, giving a silent command to them while in wolf form.

"Oh… shit!" Collin shouted, his body beginning to quake as he transformed. Brady followed soon after.

The young black wolves looked around uncertainly for a few minutes, before Brady gave a high-pitched yelp and began running circles around the clearing. Collin watched, his ears standing straight up, his mouth open in a wolfish grin.

Sam chuffed softly, causing Brady to return to Collin's side, both wolves now ready for their alpha's command.

Guess that answers that question, Jacob thought, watching the boys respond to Sam.

Just then the relative quiet of the group was interrupted by the tinny sound of My Girl coming from the cell phone in Jacob's pocket.

Startled, Jake gave a sheepish grin and fumbled in his pocket for the phone. He would ignore the call, except that was the ring tone for Maura.

"Really? You couldn't silence your phone or anything for this?" Leah said, rolling her eyes.

"My Girl?" Paul sneered before he and Quil dissolved into mocking laughter.

"Shut it," Jacob snapped. "Sorry, this will take just a minute." He flipped open the phone.

Sam let out an impatient sigh, but there was a look of understanding in his eyes.

"Hey, baby, what's up?" Jake asked.

"What's going on? I'm hearing some strange voices." Maura sounded a little panicked.

Jacob's brow furrowed in concern. He could feel everyone's eyes on him as his call continued to delay their activities. He heard Leah sigh and watched her flip open her own phone to start texting. He turned his back and walked several feet away. "What kind of voices? What do you mean?"

"Are any of you phased right now? Seth, maybe? I can hear all these comments in my head, but I knew it wasn't you or Leah."

"Like what?"

"Just like snatches of stuff. Like 'holy shit' and 'so cool' and stuff like that."

Jacob paused a minute before turning around to stare in surprise at Collin and Brady. "Hang on, Mo. Let me check something. Hey, Collin, Brady!" The young wolves turned to look at him. "Um… can you hear anything else in your head besides Sam right now?"

Brady cocked his head to the side, as though trying to listen more intently to what he was hearing in his mind. Collin whined a bit to get Jake's attention, moving his head in a nod. Brady woofed in agreement a moment later.

"Okay, Mo, I'm going to hang up now and phase." He didn't wait for her response, but hung up and tossed his phone to Leah before phasing.

_Okay, Maura. I'm here now. Can you hear me?_

Maura responded instantly. _Yeah, I hear you._

Jacob looked at Collin and Brady. _Can you two hear me?_

Both wolves seemed confused for a moment, looking between Sam and Jacob. Then they nodded at Jacob.

He sensed Maura's surprise, mixed with relief at understanding where the strange voices were coming from. Wanting to investigate further and needing Seth's help to communicate with Sam, he looked over at his pack members and mentally gave the order to phase.

It happened instantly, causing Leah to drop her cell. She growled in irritation at Jacob, who ignored her.

_Okay, Maura, we're going to block you now so we can figure this thing out. Try to ignore Collin and Brady's voices the best you can._

_Got it. I'll see you tonight! _Maura thought, involuntarily conjuring up a vision of what she and Jacob would look like later, wrapped in a heated embrace.

Leah and Seth responded in mock disgust and immediately blocked her, but Collin and Brady, not able to control their thoughts yet, practically drooled.

Jacob tried for damage control. _Uh, Maura. We have a bigger audience now, so…._

_Ugh! Right. I'll be blocking you guys now, too. Bye!_

Using Seth as go-between, Jacob let Sam know what was going on. After some initial arguing about what to do, they decided to just go for a big pack run before having the boys phase back to get some rest. They would meet with the Council later that night to share the news.

When the packs returned home to Billy's that evening, they found the rest of the Council gathered in the living room. Maura was poring over the book that her cousin Jenny had sent a few months ago.

She quickly got to her feet to give Jake a kiss. "Hey. We were just trying to see if there was any mention of being able to communicate with multiple packs in this thing." She pulled him over to sit on the couch next to Billy. The others settled in on the floor or leaned against the walls of the tiny room.

"What did you find out?" Sam asked.

Billy shook his head. "Nothing. As we figured, there is no mention of multiple packs here at all. I think maybe the answer is that the packs are evolving to fit the current situation."

Old Quil, leaning back in Billy's well-worn recliner, continued, "We've wondered about the validity of this dual pack situation. We thought the true alpha would emerge somehow to negate the other. Perhaps in a show of strength, though that didn't seem likely given Jacob's or Sam's personality. This seems to lend some credibility for continuing things as they are, if new members are able to follow both alphas and Seth continues to be able to communicate on either side."

Sue joined in. "Obviously the threat to our tribe is high or the boys wouldn't have phased. But maybe this isn't so much a sign of added danger as a sign that in these modern times, the singular devotion of the pack as protectors isn't exactly realistic. Maybe…" she paused and smiled at her two children. "Maybe it's a sign of being able to lead a more normal life."

XXXXX

The next several days were a blur. Jacob and Sam were busy with their packs, training Collin and Brady, and figuring out how this new development would affect the dynamic of both packs.

Maura was slammed at work, as the cold and rain drove more people into the diner for home cooked meals, including the peach and pumpkin pies based on Maura's grandmother's recipes that Emily had recently added to the menu.

When she wasn't running ragged at work, Maura occupied herself sending a few Christmas cards back east to distant relatives, more out of habit and tradition than anything else. She sent one, along with a picture of herself with Jake and the Clearwaters, to cousin Jenny. She did not send one to her dad.

And she anxiously watched the mail for the delivery of the present she'd ordered for Jacob.

In no time at all, it was Christmas Eve. Emily's was closing early that afternoon, giving everyone time to attend the potluck at the community center, and wouldn't reopen until two days after Christmas.

Emily yanked the chain on the "open" sign next to the diner's front door. "Ready to go, guys?" she asked Maura and Paul.

"All set. Just let me get the pies out of the oven. Thanks for driving, Paul. I didn't want to walk in the cold, and Jake said he'll be home late from work tonight," Maura answered. She placed both pies in a box and turned off the oven.

"Here, I'll get those for you," Paul said, taking the pies from Maura and the casserole dishes from Emily before heading to the car.

Maura and Emily grabbed their jackets from the back and stepped outside.

"I wonder why Jake has to work so late tonight. I was hoping he would be at the potluck."

Emily bit her lip and looked like she was hiding a smile.

"What?" When Emily just gave her a wide-eyed stare, Maura groaned in frustration. "Fine, whatever." They both jumped as Paul honked the horn impatiently, and quickly got in the car. "Billy said Jake's sister will be there tonight. I'm nervous about meeting her."

"Don't be nervous about Rachel. She's really sweet," Emily answered.

Paul snorted in seeming disagreement as he sped along toward the community center. "Yeah, real sweet," he said sarcastically.

"You haven't even seen her in, like, four or five years. Besides, I'm sure you and Jake and all his little friends were a big pain in the ass back then," Emily commented, making Maura laugh. "I used to hang out with the twins sometimes when my family would come visit Leah's. They were a lot of fun. You'll like her, Maura."

As they neared the community center, Maura felt her phone buzz signaling she had a text. It was from Jake.

_Where are you?_

She quickly texted back_. Parking lot of the center. When will you be here?_

Jake didn't answer, so she slipped her phone back in her pocket.

"Are you kidding me? Show off." Paul grumbled suddenly, as Emily let out a little squeal.

Maura looked around. "What?" Paul stopped the car without pulling into a space. She followed his and Emily's gazes to the left. Her jaw dropped. "Oh. My. God."

She jumped out of the car, slamming the door behind her, and stepped forward toward where Jake was leaning against a bright red Scirocco with a giant green ribbon around it. She faintly registered hearing Paul pull his car into an empty space behind her.

"Merry Christmas, Maura," Jake said, smiling.

"Are you freaking kidding me? This is my present? Oh my God, Jake!" She ran forward, slamming into him with a huge hug. "It's my dream car… how did you…?" She trailed off, untangling herself from his arms, and slowly walked around it.

"I found it about a month ago, in a junk lot just south of here. You like it?"

"Like it? Jake… it's fantastic," she whispered, coming around the car to stand next to him again.

"He's been working on it almost non-stop whenever he had a free moment, which isn't much considering," Billy said proudly, wheeling over.

"Yeah, well, and the guys at the shop helped me out with the paint job."

Maura shook her head. "Jake… it's too much. I can't accept a freaking car as my Christmas present." She watched Jacob's face fall. It was silent for a moment, even though they'd attracted a small crowd of onlookers.

"You'd better." Maura heard an unfamiliar voice and turned to see who it was. A small, dark haired girl walked over, pushing through the crowd. She had a fierce look on her face. "He worked hard on this. For you."

"I… I know that. I just, " Maura began, feeling defensive, and slightly intimidated, as she studied the stranger. "It's just…"she looked back at Jacob. "It's a car."

He smiled down at her and pressed the keys into her hand. "Yeah, I know. Let's go take it for a spin."

The girl interrupted again. "He put his heart and soul into fixing up this car. It's all I've heard about for a month, whenever I called home."

Maura turned to her. "Rachel." She looked back at Emily, who was grinning.

"Did I forget to mention she's also pretty protective of her annoying younger brother?"

"It's nice to meet you?" Maura offered.

Billy chuckled. "Rachel, this is Maura. Be nice, Jacob's not the only one around here who loves her."

Rachel allowed herself a small smile and stuck out her hand to shake Maura's. "I didn't hear a thank you." She nodded her head towards her brother, but her tone was noticeably softer, more teasing.

Maura rolled her eyes, but smiled. She threw her arms around Jake and pulled him down for a long kiss. "Thank you."

She grabbed Jake's hand and pulled him toward the car. She looked around for Paul but didn't see him. She figured he must have already gone inside. "Hey, Em, ask Paul to bring in those pies for me. We'll be back in a bit."

They took the scenic route up to Lake Ozette, not wanting to go too far, but wanting to give the car a nice test run. She let Jacob fool with the stereo and tried not to get offended when he gave her unsolicited driving tips. After about twenty minutes, she turned the car around, heading back.

"It's perfect, Jake. I haven't had my own car in so long. I can't tell you the feeling of freedom this has given me already. I can go anywhere, whenever I want," she said happily.

"Yeah. I know what you mean. Just don't go too far away, okay," he replied quietly.

"Are you kidding me? You know that's not what I meant." She reached over and touched his arm. "I just meant that I can go to the store without asking for permission. I feel like an adult again."

When they returned to the center and Maura had parked next to Billy's truck, she killed the engine and turned to face Jacob. "You know… this beats the pants off the present I got for you."

He laughed and leaned over to kiss her. "Doesn't matter. I'm sure I'll love it." He popped open his door. "Just, you know, though, this means I win!" He jumped out of the car laughing before Maura could hit him.

She got out, too, slamming the door in mock irritation. "You suck," she declared, pinching his bicep and darting away before he had a chance to retaliate.

They entered the crowded, hot community center still laughing and trying to swat at each other.

Seth waved them over to join him at his table. He gave Jacob a look of surprise as they sat down. "So you're okay with it, then?" he asked.

"Okay with what?" Jacob grabbed Maura's hand but gave his attention to Seth.

"Rachel and Paul. I figured you'd be kind of pissed. I think your dad was in shock."

"What are you talking about? Where's my dad? What do you mean, Rachel and Paul?"

Just then, Leah and Henry came over to join them, their plates piled high with food. "Your peach pie is already gone, Maura."

Before Maura could answer, Jacob jumped in. "What's going on? What does Seth mean by 'Rachel and Paul'?"

"Way to go, big mouth," Leah snapped at Seth. She took a big breath. "Um, yeah. So, while you two were out joyriding, Paul went out to his car to get Maura's pies and ran into Rachel." She hedged, seeming to not want to continue.

"Leah, jeez! Out with it."

"Well, he took one look and imprinted on your sister." Not giving Jacob a chance to absorb the information, she quickly continued, "Rachel had no idea why Paul's suddenly all over her, especially since she knows you two aren't best friends or anything. Then your dad about lost it when he saw them come back inside, Paul following her like a love sick puppy dog. I think they decided to go home. Sam's out back now, talking Paul down from the ledge and convincing him to leave it alone for a day or so." She took another, dramatic breath. "And now, I'm going to eat."

Later that night, Maura was still trying desperately to take Jacob's mind off the Paul-Rachel bombshell before he had to go on patrol for the night. He had almost exploded when Leah finished her recap, then refused to eat any dinner. Needless to say, they left the potluck as soon as Maura finished eating.

He then persuaded her to drive over to his dad's house so he could talk to Billy, who was in no better shape than Jacob. While the two of them brooded and muttered in the living room, Maura made small talk with Rachel in the kitchen. It turned out to be a good thing—Rachel was pretty funny, and Maura enjoyed getting to know her. She still hadn't been told the truth about what happened and had no clue about the wolves. Maura wondered when Billy would tell her.

As the hour approached midnight, Maura grew restless. She had to get back home to Sue's, and Jacob had to start his patrol with Leah and Seth. They agreed to take the Christmas patrol, leaving Sam's group to cover New Year's Eve so Jake and Maura could go to Port Angeles.

Rachel yawned. "I hope those two will knock it off and go to bed. So Paul likes me. It was annoying but not this big a deal." She sighed. "I don't want to be rude, but I'm going to bed."

Maura laughed. "Not rude at all. It's late, and I need to get home. Merry Christmas, Rachel."

Rachel smiled and gave a tired wave. As she walked through the living room to her bedroom in the back, Maura heard her sarcastically remark to her dad and brother, "Bah humbug, you two. There'll be coal in your stockings tomorrow."

Maura walked over to Jake and gave him a kiss on the top of his head. "I'm going home. I'll see you in the morning?" Jake nodded and got up to walk her to her car. "Merry Christmas, Billy!"

Billy smiled, but his eyes were tired. "Merry Christmas, Maura."

Early the next morning, Maura was helping Sue cook breakfast. She had just put on a pot of coffee, when Seth and Jacob came bursting through the door. Rain drops dripped from their hair and soaked the sweats they had changed into.

"If you were dreaming of a wet Christmas then I guess you got your wish," Seth said, laughing as he gave his mom a hug. "Smells good, Mom."

"Hey, Jake, come to my room with me for a minute, okay?" Maura asked, taking his hand and dragging him down the hall. When they got to her room, he made a running jump and landed on the bed. "Don't break it, Jake, jeez!"

"Mmm. It's nice and warm." He closed his eyes.

"I know you're tired, but you can sleep after you eat breakfast."

He reluctantly opened his eyes and sat up. "And after I go home. Dad wants us to spend time together, it being Rachel's first Christmas back. We're going to call Rebecca early this afternoon, too."

Maura hesitated, still standing in the doorway, and fidgeted with the hem of her shirt.

"What's up? You look nervous," Jake commented.

"Okay. I'm going to give you your present. But, you know, after your amazing surprise yesterday, this seems so completely inadequate." She walked to the closet and pulled out a rectangular wrapped box. She crossed back over to the bed and sat down beside him. She started to give it to him, then pulled it back from his outstretched hands. "It's just… it, well—"

"Maura, come on. It'll be great." He reached for the package again, pulling it away from her. He tore off the paper and opened the lid on the box. "This is awesome, thank you!" He leaned over to give her a kiss before lifting the copy of _Volkswagen, History to Hobby_ from the excessive amount of tissue paper she had smothered it in.

Maura sighed in relief and watched his face light up as he skimmed the introduction and flipped through the pages to see the photographs. She knew he would like it because it was all about his favorite cars, but still. It was their first gift exchange, and he had gone completely overboard, while she had spent fifty bucks plus shipping, although she had thought that might be a bit extravagant when she ordered it.

"Breakfast!" Sue called loudly from the kitchen.

"Come on, I'm sure you're starving." Maura jumped up from the bed, pulling him up behind her.

He tugged her back against his chest. Leaning down, he kissed her cheek and whispered, "Thank you. I love it, it's perfect."

XXXXX

"Quittin' time!" Bobby, one of Jacob's coworkers at the auto shop, symbolically threw a wrench down on the ground while the rest of the guys laughed and began to clean up. He retrieved the wrench and leaned against the hood of the car Jake was just finishing the repairs on. "Hot date tonight?"

He smiled, despite himself. "Yeah. Taking my girl to Port Angeles for a show."

"Well, that's cool. Beats the pants off going to the pub with the guys for New Year's Eve." Bobby stretched his arms over his head. "Which is what I'm doing. Why don't you go ahead and get outta here. I got the rest."

"Seriously? Thanks, man." Jacob quickly packed his tools and cleared things with his boss before jumping in the Rabbit. He sent Maura a quick text to let her know he was leaving early. He was barely out of the parking lot before she texted back.

_Great! We can leave early. I kinda invited some people along_.

"Maura… no," he grumbled to himself. He was hoping for a night alone with her.

He texted back: _Great. Who?_

Again, the reply came quickly_: Embry._

_Oh and Leah, Henry, and Seth. Don't be mad._

Jacob rolled his eyes. He sped home to shower and change before picking Maura and Seth up just after six o'clock. She flew out of the door as he was getting out of the car.

"Seriously, don't be mad. It's just, Embry was at the diner today. He was telling Emily he'll be back to work by the end of the month, and I could tell he misses everyone and has been bored and lonely, especially since he finally decided to break things off with Karen. But then, I didn't want him to feel like a third wheel, you know, especially on New Year's Eve, that can be depressing." Maura paused, finally, to take a deep breath. "So, I lied and told him the others were already coming. I had to bribe Leah to change her plans, but Seth was easy."

"Imagine that."

She rolled her eyes. "Come on inside. Sue wants to say Happy New Year."

She grabbed his hand and pulled him along behind her, giving him the chance to covertly ogle her as they walked.

_Super short skirt, niiiiice. Tights and her lace up punk rock boots, my favorite. But what is this flannel on top?_

"What's with the flannel?"

Maura laughed and closed the door behind them. "Necessity. It's cold. Don't worry, I'll ditch it when we get to the club." She pulled the neckline aside to reveal a tank top and the hint of a lacy bra strap beneath. Jacob couldn't stop the grin from forming on his face.

Seth picked that moment to enter the living room. "God, quit drooling on her."

Jake reached over and popped him on the back of the head before strolling to the kitchen to say hello to Sue.

"Happy New Year, honey," Sue said, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "Be careful and keep your eye on Seth, please. I really don't want him to drink before he graduates high school."

"Mo-om," Seth whined.

"Noted," Jake replied. "My dad says some of you old folks are going to party over here tonight."

"That's right, so don't go getting jealous that you're missing out on all the fun!" Sue laughed. She turned to Seth, hugging him tightly. "Okay, give Leah and Henry a New Year's kiss for me and, remember, Jacob's in charge."

"Good night, Mom." Seth kissed her cheek and pulled out of the hug. He grabbed Jacob's keys and headed to the car to wait for them.

"He'll be fine, Sue, I promise," Maura assured her, giving her a quick squeeze good-bye before leaving.

They headed to Embry's house. As they pulled up to the curb behind Leah's Suburban, they waved to Mrs. Call and Mrs. Young, who were on their way over to the Clearwater's for the "grown up" celebration.

"Jump out and tell them we're ready to go," Jacob ordered Seth. Maura opened the passenger side door and hopped out to let Seth get out, too. While he was inside getting the rest of the group, she climbed into the backseat. Jake looked in the rear view mirror and caught her eyes. "And what are you doing?"

"Kicking Seth out to ride with his sister so Embry can ride with us. He needs to be able to stretch out his leg and this back seat is too small for that. I'll ride back here," she explained.

He pursed his lips and prepared to argue. He didn't want to share this night with everyone else in the first place, and now she was squished in the back seat so he couldn't even hold her hand on the drive.

"Stop being a baby. We'll kick everyone out on the way back." She leaned forward, kissing his neck below his ear and running her hands in his hair.

_Hmm. Well, okay, if stuff like that can still happen._

"I've been thinking," Embry announced without prelude immediately after getting in the car.

Jake pulled their car around the Suburban, leading the way. "Yeah?"

"I'm going to school."

Jake took his hand off the wheel, moving it in a circular motion, gesturing for Embry to continue.

Embry angled his body sideways, facing both Jacob and Maura. "This whole thing with my injury and having to get around going to regular hospitals, you know, since the bloodsuckers left town. I've had to learn how to heal on my own, from questioning the doctors or researching online or just listening to my own body. And I realized that we need someone in the tribe who can heal, not just in the old medicine-man way, but an actual doctor."

"You're going to med school?" Maura asked, leaning forward between the front seats and sliding her left hand up to rest on Jake's shoulder.

"Yep." Embry smiled, seemingly both proud and nervous.

"That's…" Jake paused a minute. This was completely out left field. It was also brilliant. "Have you mentioned this to Sam?"

Embry's smile faltered. "No. I pretty much just decided. I've had a lot of time on my hands to think about things, and it's what I want to do. I think it's my… purpose."

"You would have to leave," Maura said.

Embry nodded.

"You have a purpose, man. Here, with the packs," Jake said softly.

"I'd come back. The packs, the tribe, would be my patients. Those Volturi were no joke, Jake. If they come back, or if any bloodsuckers come back, we need someone with medical training. And then, what about Kim and the baby? Jared says her doctor's been making comments, completely baffled by the rate at which that baby is growing. We need one of our own taking care of us."

"I'm not necessarily arguing with you, man. But you're my best friend. I've known you our whole lives, and for our whole lives you've felt out of place, like you don't completely belong. You have a purpose here already. You should know that."

"Do I, though, really? I mean, in the wolf world, I'm basically a mistake. If my father, whoever that was, hadn't had an affair, I wouldn't be here. I'm not needed to carry on the wolf line. I think maybe that's why I haven't imprinted, and I'm never going to."

It was silent in the car after that, Jacob had not turned on the radio because of Embry's sudden announcement. He felt Maura's hand squeeze his shoulder, and let out a sigh.

Embry gave a rueful laugh. "Kinda heavy for New Year's Eve, I guess, huh?" He picked up Jake's iPod and began shuffling through the play list, turning on the stereo system when he found a song he liked.

It was an old rap song they used to listen to when they were kids. Jake punched him in the arm and they both laughed, lightening the mood. "You think too much, man."

XXXXX

A few hours later, Maura was on the dance floor, swaying with her eyes closed as they listened to the band play. Stumbling over nothing, she opened her eyes and regained her balance. Looking to her left, she saw Seth and Embry laughing at her. She stuck her tongue out at them before laughing at herself.

"Hey!" Leah attempted to shout over the music as she returned from the bar with another drink for the both of them.

Maura took the drink, touched her cup to Leah's in a toast before taking a long swallow. She brought her cup back down from her lips and looked around for Jacob. "Heyyy… where's my man?"

Leah shrugged and looked around, too. She leaned down to shout in Maura's ear. "He and Henry were hanging out by the bar a few minutes ago." They both turned around to look behind them. "Oh, yeah. See, right where I left them." She giggled, and they both turned back to the stage.

"Oh my God, Leah, you're drunk!"

Leah narrowed her eyes. "Maybe. So?"

"Woo hoo!"

"No, no, no, no, no. Maura, I will never be drunk enough to turn into a woo-girl. Stop it."

Just then Maura felt big, strong arms wrap around her from behind.

"Are you harassing my girl, Leah?" Jake asked, leaning down to kiss the top of Maura's head, as Henry joined them, curling his arm around Leah's shoulders.

"She woo'ed. I cannot allow that."

Henry smiled. "She really can't."

"Buzzkill!" Maura shouted, just as the last chords of the current song faded to an end.

The singer must have heard her, announcing, "No killing the buzz on New Year's Eve. This calls for a round of shots on us, bartender!"

The crowd erupted in shouts of appreciation, as the bartenders and wait staff rushed to fill the request.

"Cheers!" Maura shouted, as she and Leah tossed back the shots, while the guys raised their glasses of water or Coke.

Maura turned and snuggled into Jacob's side, pulling him down to slur in his ear, "This iss the besst New Year'ss ever!"

Jake laughed and kissed her. "You're drunk. I'm cutting you off."

"No, I'm fine, really."

Embry playfully punched her in the shoulder. "No one likes a sloppy drunk, Mo."

"Shut up!" Maura laughed, then suddenly went still. From out of nowhere, chills ran down her spine and a feeling of dread caused bile to rise in her throat.

"Woah," Seth said, backing up. "She looks like she's gonna hurl."

Maura felt Jake's hot hands tilt her face up toward his. "Aw, baby, you okay? Let's get you outside."

Panic overtook the dread. "No! Jacob, no, we can't go out there!" She struggled to pull herself out of his arms.

As her friends circled around her, Maura felt a sudden rush of nauseating heat. She might actually throw up, but it wouldn't be from drinking. Taking in a deep breath, she gasped out just loud enough for them to hear, "Vampire!"

XXXXX

Jacob's blood pressure shot up instantly, adrenaline already coursing through his body.

You're sure?" Maura nodded. "Can you tell how far? How many?"

"N-no," she stammered, then took a deep breath. "Close if how bad I'm feeling is any indication."

Jacob watched as she tried to will the fear from her expression. "It's okay." He pulled her to him in a hug and motioned for everyone to follow him to a hallway in the back of the building, away from the noise of the band and the crowd.

"Embry, I need you to call Sam's cell. If he doesn't answer, call either Collin's or Brady's house and get them to phase and send a message to Sam. We might need back-up. Leah, guard the front door. Maura, stay back here with Henry. Seth and I will check the perimeter outside and phase if necessary."

"Jake, no, please don't go out there!" Maura clutched at his arm.

Sensing her hysteria was growing, he pulled her close again and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"I'll be fine. You've got to quit worrying. This is what we do, Maura. It's why you found us, and one of the many reasons why we're meant to be together." He brought her face to his and kissed her. "Let me go take care of the situation before these bloodsuckers can do any damage tonight." She nodded and buried her head in his shoulder, squeezing him tightly for a second before letting go.

Pushing his way through the crowd, Jake led Leah and Seth out the front door and into the cold, damp night. It was just after eleven o'clock, and the streets were crowded. "Leah, you good here?"

She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. "Yep."

Jake and Seth started off to the left. "We'll circle the block once together, see if we get anything this close."

A few minutes later, they veered left again, down a deserted back alley, hoping to avoid having to push through any more people on their way to ring in the New Year.

"I'm not getting anything yet. Too many people out tonight. Their scents are getting in the way," Seth said. Jacob grunted his agreement, his thoughts overloaded with finding the vampires and worrying about Maura back at the club.

They took another left turn as the alley gave way to a quieter street, one with bars only on the corners. Passing another alley, Jacob noticed it seemed to run right behind the club they had been in.

It was then that he caught the sickeningly sweet scent of vampire. The hairs on the back of his neck rose, and he reached out to stop Seth just as Seth's body went rigid with awareness.

"Down there!" Seth hissed loudly.

Jacob caught the movement of the bloodsucker walking toward them from close to the club's back entrance. Fearing that the vampire had somehow already been inside and harmed Maura, he phased instantly. He bent his four legs in preparation for attack, and lowered his head, snarling out a warning.

Knowing Leah would feel the moment when he phased, Jacob knew he and Seth would have back up shortly. He scanned the area and sniffed the air, expecting more vampires, and was surprised to realize that this one appeared to be alone. He then noticed that Seth hadn't yet phased. Not taking his eyes from the figure moving closer to them from the alley, he growled at Seth.

"Wait, Jake. I know this scent. You do, too."

Not fully paying attention to what Seth said, Jacob began to slowly enter the alley, figuring they could trap and dispose of the leech without any witnesses. That's when the bloodsucker's scent fully hit him.

_No fucking way,_ he thought.

"It's Dr. Cullen," Seth said.

Several things happened at once. Carlisle Cullen began to speak, Leah came barreling around the corner, wild eyed and prepared to phase, and the back door to the club slammed against the bricks as it was flung open by Embry, who was shouting at them while holding his cell phone to his ear.

Jacob growled again, getting everyone's attention. He watched Carlisle raise his hands in a non-threatening gesture. In his peripheral vision, he saw Seth smile.

Embry limped up to the group, closing his cell phone and slipping it into his pocket. "That was Sam. He was just about to call us when I called him. It seems Dr. Cullen called the Clearwater's looking for Jake. My mom answered the phone and must have told him we were headed to Port Angeles. She didn't know who it was until Billy questioned her about the call. He thought it was suspicious that someone we know wouldn't have known where we were tonight. Sam's on his way."

Seth answered, "You should call him back. Tell him we don't need him. It's just the Cullens."

Carlisle smiled at Seth and then sobered his expression. "Actually, it's just me. Jacob, I've come with some news from the Volturi."

The back door to the club swung open again. Maura darted out of it, with Henry right behind her.

"Maura, stop! We don't know what's going on. We could get in the way," Henry's harsh whisper was picked up easily by the super human hearing of the rest of the group.

Jacob, seeing that Maura was quickly approaching Carlisle, nearly came out of his skin. The instinct to protect her as she advanced on their sworn enemy was overtaking rational thought. He tensed into a crouch, ready to spring forward and attack.

Suddenly everyone was shouting at once.

"Jake, no!" Seth pleaded.

"Maura, stop!" From more than one person.

_Jake! _Maura calling to him through their mental bond.

Then, more quietly, Jacob heard Carlisle's voice. "I'm not a threat here, Jacob. I still respect our treaty, and violence is not my way of life. I won't hurt her."

Jake's growl rolled from his chest in a low, continuous rumble as he warily circled to the other side of Carlisle, coming between him and Maura. He saw the realization dawn in the vampire's gold eyes.

"She's special to you. Your mate."

Jacob nodded his head.

Leah let out a slow breath and crossed around behind Jacob to stand slightly in front of Henry. Carlisle nodded at her, seeming to understand that relationship, as well.

He heard Maura question him in her mind.

__

That's one of them? The Cullens?

__

Carlisle, the patriarch and the one who forged the peace treaty with our ancestors.

______

He seems sort of different from the one I saw up close before. His eyes.

Jake nodded again. _The Cullens don't drink human blood, remember? Ask him to tell us why he's here._

He felt Maura's hesitation and nudged her softly with his nose.

"Jake wants you to tell us why you're here." _Ugh. He might be eerily beautiful, but he stinks._

Carlisle looked around at the group. "The Volturi asked me to come. They wanted to let you know there won't be any retaliation on their part."

Jacob was stunned. Why would the most powerful group of vampires voluntarily back down?

"After their defeat here, they were set to annihilate the entire tribe. Aro called on my family to give him information about you, how you were different from the werewolves that Caius destroys in Europe, and the nature of the treaty between us. It can be difficult to go against the Volturi's directives, but we all tried convincing him to change his mind." He paused, looking directly at Jacob again. "In the end it was Bella who was able to persuade him."

Jake heard Maura in his head immediately. _Bella?_

He worked to conceal any emotion in his thoughts, but he couldn't hide his curiosity to find out how and why.

Before anyone had to ask him, Carlisle continued, "She allowed Aro into her mind. You can imagine the risk she took in doing that. But she wanted Aro to hear the legends as she had heard them. To know that your kind are called into existence by the presence of our kind. To see that the basis of our treaty was for your people to protect one tiny corner of the world while resisting the instinctive drive to destroy my clan. That you don't go seeking out the vampires.

"Ultimately, though, she wanted him to understand that to eliminate the Quileute wolves, they would truly have to slaughter the entire tribe, creating an unexplainable tragedy big enough that humans around the world would start asking questions and demand answers. It would jeopardize the secrecy the Volturi mandates for our kind and expose us to the human world."

It was silent for a moment as the information sunk in.

Embry finally broke the silence. "So, that's it? It was that easy?"

Carlisle chuckled and shook his head. "No, it definitely was not as easy as it sounds. It took weeks of persuasion and discussing possible outcomes of an attack. Bella showed him with her mind how destroying the wolves would only trigger the change in the remaining male Quileutes. That unless they were prepared to put an end to your entire gene pool, it would only be a matter of time, of one generation, before the Quileute wolves were a threat again."

Jake let out what he knew would sound like a skeptical snort. _I'm having trouble buying this. We might be safe for now, but I don't think this is the end. That they'll just leave us alone._

He listened as Maura relayed his thoughts out loud.

"I'm with Jake," Leah said. She crossed her arms defensively across her chest.

"I understand your unwillingness to accept this at face value. The Volturi aren't known for their kindness. In fact, this isn't so much a kindness as a byproduct of our need to remain off the human radar. I can't say that they won't ever return. But you have the Cullen word that we won't settle back here again, ever. We owe you that much. Our clan's return would draw new attention to the tribe."

Seeming to be finished with his delivery of the news, he smiled at the group sadly. "Your forefathers formed a truce with us. They may be gone, but the Cullens will always hold up our end of the bargain, generation to generation. And speaking of that, Bella requested a renegotiation of the tribe's boundary line to include the town of Forks, for Charlie's sake, if you'll agree."

Movement at the end of the alley caused the group to turn, both wolves and vampire on the offensive.

_Maura, tell everyone to stand down. It's Sam and Quil._

She relayed the message as Sam and Quil padded around the corner in wolf form, into their line of sight.

"Boy do we have a lot to tell you guys," Seth began, before Jake's growl and Leah snarling his name cut him off.

Embry took over. "The recap is that the Volturi have issued a no retaliation policy, for now anyway. Jake's not sure it will last forever. The Cullens continue to pledge not to settle back in this area, and Bella wants to extend the tribe's boundary to include Forks, for Charlie. I think that about does it." He looked over at Carlisle.

"That it does. Now, if you'll excuse me, everyone. And happy New Year." With that said, Carlisle strode purposefully, though at human speed, down to the cross street, neatly jumped to the top of the building, and disappeared from sight.

Sam caught Jacob's eye. He nodded and motioned with his head to Quil. Jacob got the gist of the message. If that was all, they would be heading back home and would convene the Council in the morning.

Embry walked closer to Sam, getting his attention. "Well, there is one other little bombshell. I was going to wait, but now's probably as good a time as any." Jake watched with pride as Embry revealed his med school plans to his alpha and the rest of the group.

The hackles rose on the back of Sam's neck, revealing his negative reaction to the news. He gave a short growl and Quil gave a half -whine in response. Then they turned and took off into the night.

"Guess we'll be discussing that later, too." Embry gave a rueful laugh.

Just then, the night exploded with sound. Fireworks burst into the sky, bells rang, horns honked, and people everywhere cheered and sang.

"Well. Happy New Year, everybody," Seth said.

"I guess so, huh," Leah remarked. "It's been one hell of a night, that's for sure. Come here, big guy, and give me a kiss. I need a distraction." Henry pulled her into his arms and planted an exaggerated smack on her lips, causing everyone to laugh.

Just then Embry's cell phone rang. He walked off a little ways to take the call.

"Happy New Year," Maura said, looking around at the friends who had become her family. She settled her gaze on Jacob and smiled. "Rain check on the kiss. I don't like drool."

_You're in so much trouble when I phase back. In fact, I've got some clothes stashed in the car. Tell Seth to follow me. We'll meet you back in the bar for a quick toast, but then I think I'm ready to call it a night._

"Sounds good," she responded aloud. Jake and Seth took off and the rest of the group headed back to the bar.

"Anyone mind heading home?" Embry asked, catching up. "That was Jared. Kim had the baby."

XXXXX

Five months later…

"I'm going to make a run to the store for more ice. Do we need anything else?" Jacob asked, reaching around Maura to pluck a chip from the bowl in front of her on the kitchen counter. She slapped at his hand playfully and turned around.

She surveyed the items on the kitchen table for a moment. "No, that should about do it. We've got chips, dip, veggies, Emily's layered taco stuff, my pies, the grill's ready for your hamburgers, and Sue is bringing her chili around three." She stretched up on her tip-toes to plant a kiss on his lips. He seemed to be about to deepen the kiss when she pulled back, wrinkling her forehead in thought. "Should I vacuum again before everyone gets here?"

"If you vacuum this house one more time, the dirt from underneath the foundation is going to be the only thing left to suck up. It looks great." He leaned down to steal that kiss he'd been going for a moment ago. "Our house," another kiss, "looks great."

Maura sighed happily and looked around. He was right. Their little two bedroom rental just outside the northern boundary line of the rez was small, but cozy, and definitely clean. They'd moved in just a few weeks ago after saving up enough of their paychecks to put down first, last, and a deposit.

Today, they were celebrating with a house warming-slash-first day of May party. And for once the weather was cooperating, the sun sitting high in an unusually clear sky, and the temperature hovering at sixty degrees.

While Jake picked up ice at the convenience store, Maura turned on the music on their new iPod stereo system, a house warming present courtesy of Billy and Sue. Next, she hurried to their small hall bathroom to take a quick shower before pulling on dark blue jeans, a vintage KISS t-shirt and a gray hoodie.

Within an hour, the house was filling up with their guests. Maura busied herself in the kitchen passing Emily the things that needed to be carried outside. She stopped for a moment to look through the kitchen window.

Jake was out back, on the tiny cement slab of a patio in the backyard manning the grill proudly, cutting up with the guys and drinking a beer.

Jared and Kim's five month old baby boy, Caleb, was being passed around by all the moms, smiling happily, his chubby hands covered in drool and zwieback cookie. When Sue forced him into Leah's arms, however, both Leah and Caleb looked on the verge of a tantrum, until Henry laughingly took over.

"God, Leah," she heard Seth shout, doubled over with laughter, "don't make him cry!" He ran off to play football with Quil, Collin, and Brady before Leah could reach over and punch his arm.

Maura glanced to her right and watched Rachel shoo Paul away, feigning annoyance at his constant attention, but with a happy gleam in her eye. They had officially begun dating sometime around March, and lately Billy could be heard singing Paul's praises for all his handiwork around the house, including the building of a sturdy ramp from the porch down to the front sidewalk.

Smiling to herself, Maura grabbed the last tray of food and headed out the back door to join the party.

Everyone hung around long after the burgers were gone, and as the sun began to set and the temperature dipped sharply down into the forties, Sam helped Jake start a small bonfire.

"I hope someone saved some pie for me!"

They all turned around to see Embry standing in the doorway.

"Hey, college boy, glad you could make it!" Jake said, as everyone got up to give Embry a hug. He'd been away taking some basic courses at a community college in Vancouver, which he planned to transfer to the University of British Columbia when he started the medical program there in the fall.

Mrs. Call waited patiently until the guys had all said hello before she simultaneously hugged and smacked her son on the back of the head. "You're late. I've missed you!"

Embry chuckled and squeezed her tight. "Missed you, too, Mom."

His mom released him from the hug, tugging him over to join the them at the bonfire. "Maura, would you mind getting Embry some pie?"

"Sure thing, Mrs. Call." Maura pinched Embry's cheek as she passed by. "We missed you, too."

When she returned with the pie and a glass of milk, Jacob and Sam were rounding up Collin and Brady so they could start their patrol. Since the younger boys could hear both pack leaders, they had decided to add a night with both alphas on duty to the rotation.

"You going to be all right here by yourself tonight?" Jake asked, winding his arms around Maura and pulling her close.

She nodded confidently. "I won't feel so alone anyway, being able to listen in all night."

"Go on, son. She'll be fine," Billy assured him. "I'll hang around a while, and help her put out the fire before I go."

Beside them, Sam kissed Emily and bent down to look her in the eyes. "Will you be okay tonight? It looked like you ate good. Do you feel okay?"

Emily smiled and blushed at Sam's over protectiveness. "We'll be fine."

Jake and Maura exchanged a look. "We?" They asked in unison.

Emily's blush deepened and her smile broke into a grin. "Well… we didn't want to take attention away from your house warming tonight, but little Caleb's going to have a playmate in about seven months."

"Oh my gosh!" Maura squealed and threw her arms around Emily, tumbling both of them back into Sam.

"Congratulations, man," Jake said, giving Sam a fist bump. "A little alpha on the way."

It took another fifteen minutes of hugs and congratulations before Sam and Jake were able to take off, phasing at the tree line at the edge of the road, with Collin and Brady right behind them.

The rest of the guests left not long afterward. Rachel helped Maura clean up the kitchen, while Billy and Paul extinguished the fire and cleaned up the yard. Then they, too, left to go home.

Maura wandered through the small house, making sure the doors were locked and the windows they'd opened earlier were closed. She flipped on the front porch light, then headed to the bedroom to get ready for bed. Once she was settled in with the book she was reading, she let her thoughts tune in more clearly to Jacob and the boys.

_Hey, there, pretty girl._ Jake seemed to know the moment she began paying attention.

_How does it look tonight?_ she asked.

_Pretty quiet. Same ole, same ole. At least for the last several months, anyway. Sam took Collin over to the east side of Forks. Me and Brady are hanging closer to the rez._

Maura smiled and closed her book. _Good. I like knowing you're close by._

_Did you leave the porch light on?_

_Yep. _

_Silly girl. You know I can see in the dark._

_I know. I just like leaving it on for you._

It was quiet for several minutes. Maura snuggled further under the covers and hugged Jacob's pillow, thinking about how his scent, woody and guy-soap and masculine, lingered on his pillow case. She couldn't wait until dawn, when he would crawl into bed with her, warming her instantly with his arms wrapped around her as he fell asleep. Or more thoroughly woke her up.

Apparently Jacob picked up on her thoughts. _So… what are you wearing?_

Brady broke in at once, seeming very uncomfortable. _You're not alone, you know. We can hear you. Both of you. _

Jake and Maura laughed.

_Goodnight, Jake._

_Goodnight. Be home soon._

Maura listened as Jacob gave directions to Brady to turn southward and head about a mile inland, to run a parallel route to him.

She was almost asleep when his thoughts roused her a bit.

_I love you, Maura._

_I love you, too, Jake._

XXXXX

****

A/N:

Super long thank you follows, but please read because these wonderful ladies deserve their shout out:

To those of you who stuck it out with me this past year through the long wait between updates, thank you. To those who favorited/alerted and those who reviewed the previous chapter (mdanser, Addison, jayn, XxMichyBabyxX, DonnaKC, ToraNokol23, and Caleb's babe), thank you. To Tears_of_Mercury for being one of the first to jump aboard and creating a banner and keeping me company from time to time over on the forum at twilighted(dot)net - thank you! To addisonj who has been there every step of the way and who writes wonderful HP fic (go check it out!) and who checks in to make sure I'm still out there, thank you so much!

To jdsk for being one of the first to believe in me and this fic, and for being my first beta, thank you!

To ezrocksangel for introducing me to this crazy twiverse in the first place - yeah, yeah, you are pretty awesome (*virtual hug*)

Finally, to my beta extraordinaire, DeeMichelle, for picking this up part-way in and being my cheerleader, counselor, and motivator - you rock in more ways than I can adequately express. Thank you, thank you, thank you!


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